Shattered
by Shiroi Kiba no Kyohi-ka
Summary: Tragedy strikes in Konoha leaving a certain kunoichi in shambles. Two years later the same corrupt force is now coming for her. Naruto, taking desperate measures, drags Gaara into the mix with the faith that he can restore and protect her. That he can save her. Well, will he? Or is she too broken, beyond even his reach? The answers lay within...
1. Prologue: A Meeting of Two Minds

_Post-War. Enjoy the ride._

_A special thank you to: **Far2addicted**, for betaing this story._

_You make me look wonderful._

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**Updated:** 11/11/15

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**Disclaimer: Naruto, in all facts and facilities belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I just borrow them for awhile. All emotional rollercoasters, heartbreaks, and pent up suspense, plotlines and what have you belong to me. Enjoy.**

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A Meeting of Two Minds

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_The forest was silent and still, dew glistening on the dark green chutes of grass that embraced the terrain like a second skin. Only the adept ear would have been able to decipher the tale-tell taps of sandals making contact with the tree branches above. However, they were most definitely there._

_Four figures clad in black flew like the devil was at their heels in their specified direction. Two of the four figures, who wore white decorated masks, supported a third between them, never allowing the figure's feet to touch the branch for more than a second. The fourth was running ahead of them, scanning for any unseen entities intending to intercept the skilled squadron. They functioned seamlessly in complete silence, the way their training and experience had taught them. The two supporting their comrade wore Kitsune and Okami masks, and the incapacitated third sported one of a Kusuri while their ever-watchful point man was a Mangusu._

_A slight twitch of the Mangusu's hand halted their forward progress instantly. The Kitsune and Okami pressed their backs against the trunk of a nearby tree, resting the Kuzuri's slumping figure against it as well. The Mangusu had taken refuge in the tree just ahead of them. Both the Kitsune and Okami awaited the Mangusu's signal, muscles tense, and ready to jump into action at a moment's notice._

_The Mangusu drew three senbon in his right hand and two in his left. Turning his head to the left, toward the space in between the trees, he threw three of the five senbon between the gap without looking at them. The tale-tell sound of bodies hitting the ground reassured the troupe that it was safe to continue._

_It was five more minutes before the first signs of their destination became apparent, much to the Okami's relief. She slipped two fingers beneath the Kuzuri's mask to feel for his pulse, which was quick and thready but still there. He had taken some major hits during their mission, and she was concerned for his well-being._

_She was nearing chakra exhaustion herself from all the healing she'd had to do on him. What treatment she'd been able to give, she hadn't had adequate time to perform. They had played with fire when they had laid him down before her and held their position behind enemy lines. Not long after, her other teammates had partaken in the seemingly choreographed dance of battle around her so she could patch him up to the best of her ability. The enemy never once got close, both of her teammates knowing that an intrusion would have meant death for the Kuzuri._

_The Kitsune shifted the Kuzuri's weight more onto his shoulders, intending to take the brunt of his weight from the Okami. His calculations somewhere had been wrong. For all their vigilant observations and careful planning, the mission had still fallen through at points. The ambush did not fit the enemies MO. They tended to dive head first into battle, much as the Kuzuri did, with no heed to the logic or strategy that the Kitsune found solace in._

_This mission had lasted two months. Two months of observation, two months of formulation, two months of tracking, of freezing in the cold, harsh winter with no fire to warm them for fear of discovery, of dealing with each of their teammate's withdrawals of social interaction, and of feeling dehumanized, which seemed so troublesome to the Kitsune. It would take another month for each of them to fall back into normal human socialization. Now, it was all for naught._

_Granted, the mission had been reconnaissance only, but they had gained a sudden opportunity to obtain actual intelligence. And any missed opportunity to gain the upper hand was always the move that cost the game, as the Kitsune knew all too well._

_The gateway that lead to their home came into sight, but the billowing smoke and red flames that appeared sent the returning squad members into overdrive._

_They cleared the one hundred or so yards to the gate in less than a minute. Once inside the gate, they became an audience to utter chaos. Buildings were on fire, marketplace produce was strewn along the street, the injured and bleeding lay helpless and moaning on the scorched earth, and the help seemed to be in as much disarray as the victims._

_The squadron shed their masks upon entry, letting them fall loosely around their necks. Shikamaru took Kiba's limp form from Sakura as she knelt beside a bleeding child on the ground. Groping in her pouch for a fruit pill, she ingested it before the green glow emanated from her hands. The breathing was shallow, but it was still there, his condition stabilizing beneath her hands._

_Neji activated his Byakugan and pivoted slightly on his left foot to get a full view of the village. His eyes widened then narrowed once he locked onto the invasive force._

_"They are headed toward the civilian district on the eastern side," he relayed, his voice tempered with anger. He had long ago foregone his bitter lamentations about being of the branch family of the house of Hyuuga. Konoha was his home, and he was enraged that someone had the gall to threaten it in his absence._

_Sakura's eyes widened. She rose to her feet immediately and channeled chakra into them, launching herself from the ground and into the air. She took to the rooftops, sprinting as fast as her exhausted leg muscles would allow and ignoring their protest at such exertion. Her emerald eyes were wide in fear and anxiety as she flew by, only a black and pink blur to any who might observe her._

_She landed unsteadily before a white house that had been set ablaze. as she approached it, the second-story of the house fell down into the first. Emotion flooded her eyes as she watched the horrifying scene unfold before her._

_"No," she found herself whisper, her own voice sounding foreign to her._

_Without a second thought, she barreled into the building, throwing back blistering debris with her bare hands, never feeling any pain. The flames were hot and licked at her body like a warm caress, but she paid them no mind. She looked around frantically, but saw nothing. Jumping onto what little remained of the unstable floor of the second story, Sakura ran as fast as she could down the hall and to the right, as she remembered it._

_She threw back the door revealing a room nearly unravished by the flames, her sight catching on a figure pinned to the bed by a wooden beam. She rushed to the figure's side, hurling the beam away before cradling the figure in her arms. The smoke was thick and affected her vision as she spotted the only window in the room. Charging through the window backward and falling from the second story, Sakura held the figure securely against her torso, breaking his fall. The building collapsed entirely moments after and the flames roared more fiercely, accentuating her near failure._

_Sakura rolled over and laid the figure on the ground beneath her. It was a boy around twelve, his figure thin and fragile as it had always been. His sandy-blonde hair was slightly singed by the fire as she gently brushed the fingers of her left hand through it. He curled into her touch, and Sakura took this as a good sign._

_"Junsuino," she called to him softly._

_The boy stirred at her voice and opened his emerald green eyes to regard her before blinking several more times. He looked confused and opened his mouth to speak before heavy coughs racked his small frame, spewing blood from his pale lips._

_Sakura's softened expression took on the visage of panic as she immediately brought the glowing green energy to her hands. She closed her eyes as she searched his system frantically for the source of his blood. She felt her heart drop when she sensed the broken ribs that had punctured his lung and liver. A sharp jagged edge of bone was rubbing against the aortic artery that led directly to the heart. He was bleeding out on the inside._

_"No," was all she could manage to say as she pushed her green healing energy to flood his system, wincing at the strain of chakra exhaustion she felt. She had closed her eyes to concentrate when a voice called out to her urgently._

_"Sakura!" It was Neji's voice. Sakura opened her eyes in time to see her squadmate sail over her to deflect her silent attacker. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked to her left, where two more figures closed in on their location._

_She rose to her feet and used her chakra laiden fist to slam into the neck of the first one, barely dodging the kunai he had pointed at her, and his body crumbled instantly. The next adversary was more cautious after watching her previous performance, quick and light on his feet. It was a combination Sakura didn't have time to deal with._

_The enemies kept coming. When Sakura killed one, two more would fill their place. Sakura's hits grew more reckless as worry began to invade her mind. If she didn't get to Junsuino soon, he was going to die._

_After what seemed like forever, the flood of enemy nin seemed to die down. Neji, who had stayed at her side, activated his Byakugan again, scanning the landscape before him._

_"They are retreating," he stated as Sakura dispatched the last nin on her side of the battlefield._

_The sound of gargled blood snapped Sakura's head to the figure on the ground. She threw herself down and brought the green energy to her hands once more. Junsuino coughed again and spat up a wad of clotted blood._

_"No, you can't give up. Not now. Junsu, I promised I would protect you. I won't break that promise," she said fervently as the green glow in her hands ebbed and flickered into non-existence. Her eyes widened as a rush of nausea passed through her. She had nearly exhausted her entire chakra supply. It was a defense mechanism ingrained into her by Tsunade to shut off her systems when the level was too low._

_"No," she cried as she tried to bring the glow back to her hands. Tears blurred her vision and her brow lifted slightly out of concentration as a pale white hand grabbed on to her own trembling fingers._

_She gazed into the smiling face of her brother, his emerald eyes holding an understanding of the situation beyond his years. He knew he was going to die._

_"Don't worry, Kura. I'm going to be alright," he said with a smile. Sakura felt the first of the hot tears trail down her face as he lifted his hand to palm her cheek and wiped it away. Her lower lip trembled fiercely._

_"I can't lose you Jun," she said softly as her voice quivered._

_"You won't. Remember what you told me when you first became Anbu," he asked his voice choking slightly on the unwanted liquid being forced up his throat. He took her hand and placed it on the left side of his chest three inches from his sternum. "I'll always be right here."_

_Sakura's vision blurred entirely as she felt the quivering rise and fall of his chest as he struggled to breathe. She knew this moment meant the world to him; she had to say the right thing. This was going to be his last memory of her._

_She could already see the light in his eyes fading as she spoke to him one last time, "That's right, Junsu. And I'll always love you."_

_As the last embers of his mind fired on their final pistons, a smile was gracing his features. He closed his eyes and spoke his final sentence, "I love you too….Kura."_

_Sakura felt her heart clench and her breathing come to her in large gasps. She coughed violently, trying to regulate her breathing as sobs threatened to rack her frame. Gritting her teeth, she felt the first sob build up in her throat, threatening to break free from her restraint. Her vision blurred as tears flooded her eyes and spilled over in a boundless limit._

_The hand that laid itself on her shoulder shocked her, and Sakura drew a kunai and turned to her assailant. Neji caught the kunai's tip gingerly with his fingertips as recognition flooded Sakura's features, and she dropped the kunai. Raising her gaze slowly, she was presented with an expression few have ever seen the Hyuuga wear: unadulterated sorrow._

_"Sakura," he spoke into the silence that seemed to echo throughout their surroundings, "cry."_

_Sakura felt her shoulders shake as she turned and cradled Junsu in her arms gently as if he were made of precious china. She felt the first of what she knew would be many sobs form within her throat again. This time she released it._

_It manifested itself in a mournful scream. She felt two arms encircle her waist and a pressure against her back as her sobs echoed throughout the street for what seemed like hours….._

* * *

Thunder rolled and broke the rosette kunoichi from her momentary lapse in concentration, her emerald eyes lazily assessing the target that she had been tailing for the past week, a wanted defector from Konoha. According to the mission scroll, this was one of the many rogue ninja indirectly responsible for the assault that had taken the lives of many people two years ago, including her brother.

Her normally stoic expression hardened slightly at the thought of having someone responsible within her grasp. Her eyes narrowed as the figure moved more edgily down the path, shifting his backpack ever so slightly, like he could sense her killing intent. It mattered little to her. His death was impending whether or not he squirmed beforehand.

* * *

Naruto leaned back in his chair behind the Hokage's desk as the sun glinted off of his glaringly orange long coat. As he aged, people within the village began to talk about how the jinchuuriki was beginning to favor his late father. The similarity had also transcended upon his choice of wardrobe, much to Hinata's humor.

His newly acquired position brought him a great sense of pride, but it came a great weight of responsibility, something he hadn't fully comprehended nor appreciated of his predecessor until very recently. The classic smile vacated his normally sunny complexion and was replaced with a deep frown that tugged at the edge of his lips.

A knock that sounded on the door to his office ushered him back into reality, forcing his signature smile back to its proper place.

"Come in." Naruto's great booming voice echoed within the expanse as the door opened and he rose to meet his guest.

The crimson locks of the Kazekage dressed in his traditional kage garb came into his visage, and his smile visibly brightened. Sabaku no Gaara returned a semblance of the gesture as he extended his hand to his friend.

"Kazekage," Naruto greeted, taking the offered hand and shaking it. "I am glad that you were able to come on such short notice."

Gaara dismissed the greeting with the slight wave of his hand as he made to sit in the appointed chair before the Hokage's desk.

"I knew when you asked that you would not be asking for this meeting unless it was of great importance," he countered, his seafoam eyes searching his friend's sapphire blue orbs as he took his own seat behind the desk.

Naruto's eyes were contemplative as he glanced around the room at his own elite bodyguards stationed strategically around the room, then at the Sand nin that had dutifully followed the Kazekage into the office.

"What I have to say needs to be done in nondisclosed confidence," he stated his blue orbs meeting and holding Gaara's gaze.

Gaara searched his eyes for any indication of what was to come, and what he observed reflected in those orbs concerned him.

"Hn," was his only response as he waved his hand and the Sand nin retreated.

"All of you, go, take a fifteen minute break," Naruto stated to the rest of the elite bodyguards leaning against the wall nonchalantly.

He waited until the door was closed before sealing the room entirely. Only when the blue glow of chakra ignited every crevice of the room did he open his mouth to speak.

"Sakura's life is in danger."

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She was in position to take the target when a tree branch snapped some odd ten feet from the subject. His head jerked to the right as he backed off to the left just enough to bring him out of range.

Her emerald orbs narrowed in the distracting sound's direction. More likely than not, it was an animal of the forest trying to make its way through the undergrowth. In any case, it was enough to warrant a look.

Sakura soundlessly sprinted to the right, landing silently on the forest floor. She rose from her crouching position and drank in the still, leafy expanse around her. There was nothing. Her cold eyes blinked once before she withdrew a kunai lazily to block the offending weapon thrust down upon her.

Upon opening her eyes, she glanced to her right as the target bared his weight on her in an attempt to overpower her. Her eyes merely narrowed. He had no idea who he was dealing with.

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Gaara had his fingertips pressed together, his lips resting against them in thought as Naruto continued.

"I have significant intel that leads me to believe the group responsible for the assault on Konoha over two years ago is now targeting her."

The Kazekage drew his head back as his brow furrowed slightly.

"How are you certain?" he questioned.

"The intel she has brought back from the S-ranked missions she's performed over the years. Additionally, other findings from additional Anbu Black Op reconnaissance missions also indicate her as their next target," Naruto finished.

His blue orbs clouded with concern as his own brow furrowed with thought.

"At first we weren't certain. They would make brief references to 'the medic'. Then we started getting a description. One message noted 'monstrous strength'. Another noted 'extreme chakra control'. The last one we received even had her family name on it," Naruto finished, sighing as he leaned back in his chair.

Gaara gazed up unblinkingly at his friend. It was apparent that Naruto's position was aging him, as his own had already done to him. It was forcing the eternal optimist to see the darker side of life, something that Gaara, after becoming Kazekage and experiencing it himself in all of its black-hearted wonder, had questioned if his friend could handle and still maintain his carefree air. In this moment, Gaara knew his very foundation was being tested.

He had no doubt that Naruto would always do what was best for his people, and Gaara knew that Naruto expected no less of him as well. It wasn't a question of whether or not Naruto had what it took to be Hokage; he did. The issue remained with a simple question: could he do it, and not lose himself to it entirely?

"Why Haruno?" Gaara questioned fishing for his friend's thoughts.

"The same reason the Akatsuki wanted her, the same reason Sasuke wanted her, and the same reason attempts on her life have been made before. Sakura is a very skilled medic. One that any village, organization, or person would be lucky to have at their disposal. Not to mention the fact that she is a woman and, from experience, we know what could happen to her if she is captured under such pretenses," he growled lowly.

"What is it you need from me?" Gaara queried, attempting to steer himself from his current line of thought.

"I need you to take her to Suna and protect her," Naruto stated unflinchingly.

"Haruno Sakura is a kunoichi-" Gaara stated leaning back in his own chair.

"A damn good one who has single-handedly taken on over sixty S-ranked missions within the past two years alone," Naruto interrupted. "I am not questioning her abilities to eliminate her attackers, Gaara."

"Then what is your concern?" he requested, his tenor tone laced with curiosity.

"Further damage to her already fragile psyche," Naruto admitted.

Gaara's brow once more furrowed. "I am not sure I understand."

"Let's just say after the attack, we lost Sakura for a while. We weren't sure that she would ever truly recover, and I don't believe she ever really did..."

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Sakura withdrew a second kunai from her weapons pouch and slashed at the rogue's throat, but he jumped back deftly, dodging her strike. She threw the kunai in her right hand high, and the left one went low. The target dodged by taking to the trees.

Sakura's eyes remained expressionless as she chased after her fleeing prey. It was of no consequence to her. At his current pace she could keep up with him for the next day or two if she had to. This was just another job, another mission, another check mark, another day.

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"What do you mean, lost her?" Gaara questioned.

"The attack destroyed her," Naruto elaborated. "Almost entirely. She lost a part of herself that night, Gaara. Do not ask me what; it is not my right to say."

The Kazekage leaned back in his chair, taking in this new information.

"After the assault, she had a very brutal falling out with her family in the hospital over it. They blamed all of it on her: the fall of the village, the damage done to their home, and for the loss of something precious. They taunted her with her inability to save lives in the midst of chaos, insulting her achievements, and even her title of kunoichi."

"Why couldn't she?" Gaara queried, his eyes sharp from concentration.

"Her squad of Anbu happened on the assault on return of a mission that had lasted two months. Knowing her squad, her chakra was spent long before she arrived," Naruto said calmly. "She, more than likely, was on reserves upon entering the village."

From anyone else, Naruto would have bristled at the question, but from Gaara it held a different meaning. It was not meant as a barb, as it would have been from any other kage or elder, but instead as a hook for information.

The Kazekage sat in contemplative silence as Naruto continued.

"She had severe chakra exhaustion burns upon arriving at the hospital," his expression took on a far away look to Gaara and his tone was low as if remembering a bad dream. "I had never seen her so broken like that. It was like her whole world had shattered."

There was an impassive silence between the two men before the redhead spoke.

"What did she do after?"

Naruto's gaze hardened.

"Trained. Constantly. With anyone and everyone she could get to agree. At first, we thought it was good for her. It was an outlet. Everyone needs an outlet after something like that, but this...this was beyond that. It became an obsession."

* * *

She had followed her target nearly ten miles from the original point of attack, and it was honestly wearing thin on the rosette's nerves. It was time to end this.

She briefly disappeared from sight, and the target slowed as he glanced behind himself to find her. On the next tree branch he paused, and that would be his fatal mistake.

The branch seemed to implode as shards of wood and splinters flew off in every direction. His wide eyes took in her seemingly calm visage, and she raised her head to look him in the eye as she drew back her originally extended right fist. He landed on the next tree as chakra surrounded her chakra-flow enhanced gloves. She took aim, he barely had time to throw himself from that tree branch before it too seemed to implode.

Upon the impact with ground, the rosette before him, bearing senbon, her stance lanky as she wielded two senbon and struck, immediately assaulted him. He felt the pinpricks of contact as the needles pierced two of his pressure points, his left arm going numb instantly as it fell at his side, useless.

The man grimaced as he jumped back from the kunoichi, waiting for her approach before he threw the exploding tags. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the pinkette, and that disturbed him.

He felt a bead of sweat roll down his spine uncomfortably as his eyes scanned the still, quiet clearing he found himself in, a moment's reprieve before she continued her aggressive assault, her attacks relentless in speed and ferocity. The rogue just barely managed to dodge each blow, but, as fate would have it, his luck was running out.

He felt the bite of a blade tear into his shoulder. With gritted teeth, he threw his own kunai managing to shred the material of her black long-sleeved shirt on her bicep. Her eyes, accentuated by the black half-mask she wore, narrowed as she continued the assault.

He forced his hands together and began making hand signs. Sakura jumped in recognition of the phoenix flower jutsu as a great ball of fire raged toward her previous position.

As the flames cleared, her figure was revealed, airborne. The black wrappings on her forearms were slightly unraveled and attached to them were an assortment of weapons. He felt his shoulders tense in anticipation as she swung her wrappings toward him.

He dodged half-heartedly to the left as a tanto pierced his calf muscle. He cried out in pain as kunai along with other randomized weapons lodged themselves securely into his being. With a ruthless jerk of the wrappings all the weapons returned to her person, disappearing at the bidding of a single hand sign, as blood poured from his being in massive quantities.

She dropped to the ground silently, merely feet from him, as she made her approach. She halted a few steps from him and uttered a single sentence.

"This is for my brother."

With a rib-shattering kick, he was launched feet into the air. Glancing at the ground through pain-dazed eyes, he found her figure absent. She reappeared behind him and released the bindings on her arms, which wrapped around his person securely. With a swift jerk, they both began the fated torrential spiral earthward, and just before impact Sakura released her prisoner.

His body was unmoving. Sakura panted softly, the first, and only, sign of exertion she had shown during the entire exchange. However, after a few moments, that too ceased.

She approached the man slowly and, after placing two fingers to his carotid artery, she turned, leaving without another word as a wayward breeze ruffled her ponytail.

* * *

"Kiba, Lee, Neji, and Tenten are among the many sparring partners she's had, and, because of her fierce dedication to her training, she has become an even larger force to reckon with. Paired with her medical knowledge, she now has Neji's pressure point technique that has become a close match to the Hyuuga gentle fist technique. Along with Tsunade's outrageous chakra enhanced strength, she has Lee's taijutsu training, Kiba's ferocity and Tenten's weapons skill, and her own innate regenerative skills. Gaara, if she isn't already, she is on her way to becoming the ultimate killing machine," Naruto finished, sounding much older than his years let on.

Gaara sat in complete silence.

During the war, he and Sakura had grown close after Tsunade had sent her on assignment as his personal medic. Through the combat, the strategizing, and the near-death close calls somehow he and the rosette medic had formed a semblance of friendship. Even after the conclusion of the war, they had corresponded for a while.

In truth, the letters, over the span of two years, had awakened feelings in the red headed Kazekage that he had never known he harbored, and, to him, it was even more peculiar that they decided to surface due to a certain rosette kunoichi.

However, two years ago the letters had stopped altogether. He had known about the assault on Konoha and had even personally come to aid in the rebuilding of the hidden village. At the time, it hadn't seemed strange to Gaara that he hadn't seen her. Since she was a medic, he had expected she was swamped at the hospital, and he was too busy helping Naruto reform his village that he had negated to go searching for the kunoichi.

Although, as time dragged on he had noted the absence of her letters and silently pined for the presence she once held in his mundane life, but there had been no official arrangement between the two nor mention of the intentions behind such correspondence. So, as time passed, feelings began to fade and, eventually it all had just become a fond memory.

Now, sitting here, in Naruto's office, Gaara silently cursed himself for not seeing it sooner.

"I need your help, Gaara," Naruto pleaded.

Gaara gazed up into his friend's hopeful eyes before responding. "What would you have me do?"

"I am going to assign her on a detachment security detail to Suna, with your permission, of course."

One of Gaara's uncolored eyebrows elegantly raised in question.

"On what grounds?"

"Extra security for the Kazekage due to a death threat made by the same organization that lead the assault on Konoha," Naruto finished, a grin on his face.

"This is, of course, unfounded," Gaara surmised, his eyebrow still raised.

"Naturally," Naruto responded the smile still painted on his face.

Gaara leaned forward once more, leveling his friend with an intense gaze.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but you expect me to take a, by your definition for all intents and purposes, unstable, kunoichi into my village, who happens to be an increasingly more volatile killing machine than she was the last time we met, under the pretense of a lie that an organization, that happens to be the catalyst for said instability, has made a claim on my life while simultaneously ensuring her own safety. Furthermore, you want me to lie to this person?"

"I am glad we understand each other," Naruto said rising from his seat.

Gaara leaned back in his chair and exhaled stressfully while Naruto chuckled in the background.

"I could potentially have a mass murderer in my village," Gaara lamented, staring at the ceiling while resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, I thought Suna was used to that kind of thing," Naruto quipped with a side smirk.

Gaara gifted Naruto with a semi-glare, but he just laughed good-naturedly. Shortly after the laughter died down, the serious inflection returned to Naruto's voice.

"Gaara, if anyone can save her, I know you can."

"So that's what this is all about," Gaara spoke softly, holding his friend's gaze steadily.

"I know you use to send each other letters all the time," Naruto said with a knowing glint in his eyes, "She use to talk about you all the time. Sometimes I grew sick of hearing about you." He laughed slightly at the memories.

"That was years ago, Naruto," Gaara responded with a breathy sigh.

"Even so, that doesn't just go away. I know, somewhere, you still care about her," he said before adding, "And I bet she still does too."

Gaara looked up into Naruto's endlessly blue eyes and had the notion that he was being set up on a weird, strange, twisted, cliche, and possibly cataclysmic date with Haruno Sakura. Or an adventure, maybe.

The resigned sigh that escaped Gaara's throat left the blonde grinning unabashedly.

"So, when should I send her?"


	2. Chapter 1: The Right Decision

_Previously on Shattered:_

_"Gaara, if anyone can save her, I know you can."_

_"So that's what this is all about," Gaara spoke softly, holding his friend's gaze steadily._

_"I know you use to send each other letters all the time," Naruto said with a knowing glint in his eyes, "She use to talk about you all the time. Sometimes I grew sick of hearing about you." He laughed slightly at the memories._

_"That was years ago, Naruto," Gaara responded with a breathy sigh._

_"Even so, that doesn't just go away. I know, somewhere, you still care about her," he said before adding, "And I bet she still does too."_

_Gaara looked up into Naruto's endlessly blue eyes and had the notion that he was being set up on a weird, strange, twisted, cliche, and possibly cataclysmic date with Haruno Sakura. Or an adventure, maybe._

_The resigned sigh that escaped Gaara's throat left the blonde grinning unabashedly._

_"So, when should I send her?"_

* * *

**Updated:** _11/11/15_

* * *

_A special thanks to: __**Far2addicted**__, for betaing this story. _

_You make me look like a pro._

* * *

**_Disclaimer: Naruto, in all facts and facilities belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I just borrow them for awhile. All emotional rollercoasters, heartbreaks, and pent up suspense, plotlines and what have you belong to me. Enjoy._**

* * *

The Right Decision

Once more Naruto sat behind his desk, sighing as looked over the paperwork left by AnBu returning the night previous. His eyes were bleary from sleep and the words on the documents were blurring together, making them nearly impossible to comprehend, much less read. Leaning back in his chair, he raised his face toward the ceiling in an attempt to blink away the fog.

It had been nearly a week since he and Gaara had spoken. From the look of things, and the mission report, Sakura had returned late last night. This meant he would have to tell her about her upcoming mission soon, and it was not a discussion he was looking forward to having.

Every time the organization, which aggravatingly still had no name, that had attacked Konoha was mentioned, something in Sakura snapped a little more, and Naruto could hardly blame her. Although he had no blood relatives to lose, he did have a family of which she was a part of, whether or not she liked it. He couldn't imagine losing her or Hinata. He'd lost some good friends and comrades during that invasion; everyone had. He just wondered how much longer she could hide from it all.

Naruto was broken from his thoughts by his assistant entering his office.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," drawled a voice lazily.

"Shikamaru," he acknowledged before sighing, raking his fingers through his blonde hair in a distressed manner.

The brunette genius held another stack of papers in his hands as he scanned the desk with lazy brown orbs, noticing it was already littered with paperwork. His gaze took in the Hokage's already stressed countenance and managed a sigh of his own.

Today was going to be a long day.

"Troublesome," he muttered while setting down the stack with a sigh.

"You have no idea."

* * *

A light film of sweat encased her figure as the strawberry-haired kunoichi viciously performed her morning katas while dew soaked into her black attire. The black pants that bunched below the knee, the high-necked, sleeveless shirt, even the wrappings on her arms, which extended from above her elbow to the first joint of each finger, and legs, from mid calf to just above her sandals: all were damp, and none of it was due to perspiration.

She'd already done the majority of her taijutsu workout, and her breath hot as it was reflected back against her face by the black half mask she was now famous for. Barely registering the cold temperatures of the early autumn morning, she kicked once more at an invisible enemy, deflecting their attack with one hand and stabbing them with the other that brandished a kunai.

He found her like this.

"Hyuuga," she greeted, never ceasing her movements, eyes lined with black never moving from their focused position. "You're late."

"Hn."

The kunoichi turned slightly to take in his visage, her hair swaying slightly in response to the motion. "You're thinner."

Her voice was monotonous, but Neji heard her unspoken question.

"Tenten has been busy," he supplied with a slight edge to his voice.

Sakura merely nodded. If she could tell Neji was lying, she didn't acknowledge it; yet, somehow, he could feel that she knew. This was Sakura.

He had been the one person she had helplessly latched onto after the invasion. Psychologically, it made sense: He had been there when Junsuino had died, and he had also been the one to comfort her after his passing. Ever since, she had been a constant force in his life.

It wasn't something that he disliked. She was a strong kunoichi, a good friend, and a member of his Anbu team. But maybe that was another aspect of it: in order to be an effective team, members of an Anbu squad had to know each other in a manner bordering on intimate. They had to know each other's reactions, how they handled stress, how they would react in stressful situations. In an uncertain situation, with people she had once trusted betraying her, he was the one certain thing in her life, and, due to the fact that he had known her so well, he had known how she would react. He had told her to cry because she wouldn't otherwise. She was Sakura.

The attachment at first had been comforting, but as time moved on it had become slightly unsettling. Sakura wasn't clingy or needy, like Neji had expected her to be; instead she was silent, distant almost, but aware. She could read him like no one else he'd ever known. If he was upset, angry, she knew, and what bothered him the most about it was the fact that they barely spoke. However, it was a double-edged sword, this 'understanding' of one another. Just like she knew him, he knew her. To everyone observing, Sakura had retreated into this zombie-like shell, unfeeling, uncaring, and emotionless. Nothing, as he knew, could have been farther from the truth.

It wasn't that Sakura didn't feel; she refused to feel. She couldn't handle the grief of complete loss, so she had hidden, locking it all inside, and it was because of this that Neji refused to give up hope on his friend.

"Hyuuga," she called, breaking him from his reverie. Her emerald orbs observed him as usual.

"Hn," he responded, melding his body into stretches his own opalesc eyes closed in concentration.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a messenger appeared before the two shinobi. Sakura ceased her motions and Neji leveled the nin with a curious look. He was a male, middle-aged, brown hair, grey eyes, athletic, with medium height and build. If he activated the Byakugan he could deduce more, but it wasn't necessary.

"The Hokage requests your presence in his office," he stated evenly to Sakura before his eyes glanced toward the Hyuuga. "Both of you."

Neji's eyes narrowed. It had been some time since he'd had a mission.

He heard a sigh off to his right as Sakura stretched her arms above her head in a seemingly bored manner. The messenger was gone with another poof of smoke, and without a word they both abandoned the training grounds in favor of the Hokage's summons.

* * *

Naruto had started the first page on the incredibly high stack that Shikamaru brought in when a curt knock resounded on the door. A bright smile plastered itself to his face as he spoke, knowing who stood behind that door.

"Come in Neji, Sakura," his cheerful voice boomed.

Neji nodded as he entered, taking his place before the Hokage, but Naruto's sight was trained on Sakura, who entered in a manner that would have made their sensei proud, quietly and swiftly. After closing the door behind her, Sakura leaned against the wall opposite Naruto, her arms crossed and eyes focused. Upon noticing Naruto's gaze, she inclined her head, slightly closing her eyes in a sign of respect.

"Hokage-sama," she stated in acknowledgment, her intonation flat at best.

The formal greeting stung Naruto slightly, but he didn't let it show.

"Sakura," he returned with a smile, softening the edges in his voice.

Instantaneously he recovered and remembered why they were present. He glanced at Neji before speaking.

"I have an assignment for you," he started noting the slight shift in the Hyuuga's posture. "I am aware that you, Sakura, are due some leave since you have just returned from a high risk mission; however, the cost of not sending you both out on this particular assignment could be fatalistic."

Sakura's expression was unchanging. She was always in a state of constant neutrality, so much so that Naruto couldn't read her anymore. Glancing at Neji, he noted the focus of his eyes and could practically see his cousin-in-law's brain whirling in search of possible options for the reason behind such a summoning.

"We have reason to believe that the organization responsible for the attack on Konoha has a new, high-priority target." He paused before continuing, crossing his arms and taking in the reactions of the shinobi before him.

Worry etched across Neji's brow, his lips down turning at the corners and his discomfort causing him to cross his own arms as if bracing for the identification. Then Naruto looked to Sakura.

To the normal onlooker, she wouldn't have changed, but if you were to look into her eyes there was an unmistakable hunger and sharpness to them that hadn't been there moments ago. In that moment, Naruto questioned his own motives.

He couldn't protect her from this for much longer. He couldn't save her, but maybe Gaara could. Naruto closed his eyes momentarily, setting his unwavering trust and faith in the man to bring his best friend back as Sakura had once done to him. He just prayed, this time, the outcome would be much different.

"The Kazekage has been targeted," Naruto said coolly, his blue eyes sharpening in anger channeled from his own failure. "I am sending the two of you to Suna as a sign of friendship in these hard times. Both of you have advanced knowledge of the enemy and will be assets to the Suna shinobi force." Naruto glanced at Neji, who seemed to be slightly more relaxed than he was before. It was now Sakura who was on edge. "The Kazekage has agreed to this detail. Neji," he said holding the shinobi's gaze, "You are team captain on this mission."

Neji nodded. He could sense Sakura's tenseness from beside him, her normally lax demeanor gone. It puzzled him slightly.

"Right. You will leave in three hours. Sakura, you are dismissed. Neji, I need to speak with you about a familial matter, so please stay."

Nodding curtly, Sakura rose from her post on the wall and left. Once Naruto was sure she was gone, he performed the seals to soundproof the room once again.

Neji's eyes narrowed at Naruto in question.

"What I am about to tell you cannot be repeated."

* * *

The sunlight barely shone into her apartment through the thick curtains covering her windows. A lamp beside her bed was the only light source as she packed for the mission.

She was nearly ready, her pack all set with scrolls and an assortment of weapons. Crouching down to grasp a basic antidote from one of her drawers, she spotted a forgotten piece of paper that lay beneath it.

Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly as she took the aged paper between her bare fingertips, and, upon scanning it, Sakura immediately recognized the elegant script as the Kazekage's. It was an abandoned letter of his, the last one she'd ever received.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, her fingers traced the strokes of his hand, and she almost smiled at the memories it revived in her mind. Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro eating at the dinner table, strategizing at the war table, maintaining his health as the leader of the Allied Forces, sharing fears, fighting side by side, and possibly even falling in love…

Her eyes hardened instantly as she tossed the letter aside. Who she was now wasn't who she was then. Nothing would ever be the same. She knew that.

Irritated, she wrenched her plated black vest, of her own design, from the back of a nearby chair. It had a high, slender collar with a rounded back to protect the base of her skull, and was black with a contrasting white circle in the center of its back, the only thing she had left that linked her to her clan since that night. This, along with the Okami mask that hung loosely around her neck, was the only addition she made to her attire as she slung the pack over her shoulder. Outside the door, she double-checked her weapon pouches one last time before locking it behind her.

As she turned down the road toward the main gate, she took in the sights and sounds around her, knowing it would be some time before she would see it again. She had already cancelled her training sessions with the other former members of rookie nine. Lee had wanted to spar with her, but it would have to wait until some other time.

Sighing, she let her feet wander. If she went directly to the gate now, she'd be over an hour early, so she let her heart take her where it pleased, and wasn't surprised when she found herself standing before the memorial stone.

Many names had been added to the list that night two years ago. Almost instinctively, her fingertips caressed two names in particular: Senju Tsunade and Hatake Kakashi. Her eyes darkened as she traced the names of her teachers. Her family.

Lifting her eyes from the memorial stone, they traveled to the newly erected one beside it. On the top was inscribed: In Loving Memory of those lost to us in the Konoha Invasion. The name she searched for was fourth from the top. Haruno Junsuino.

Her fingers shook as she traced his name and somewhere deep inside her clenched tightly, a ball of pain and regret she had shoved into the deepest part of her being in an attempt to bury it. Of course, it hadn't worked, and that was when she had chosen an emotionless life. She would no longer feel, because she had been driven to near insanity when she had.

"Sakura?"

She felt her throat catch, imagining it was Kakashi catching her here, but someone else had taken up his post of watching over his teammates.

"Sai," she spoke evenly.

She didn't turn from her position facing the memorials, knowing he wouldn't move to comfort her even if she did. Sai had been greatly affected by the attack on Konoha, but in a very different manner.

"Is it because you miss them?" His voice sounded again in the silent grove of trees surrounding them. It seemed to be the only noise for miles. "Is that why you changed?"

Sakura raised her head from looking at the stones and fixed her gaze on the greenery on the other side of the clearing. She turned to leave but stopped just past him as he spoke again.

"Why did you change? Were you not the one who told me it was okay to feel things? To have emotions?" he challenged as he turned toward her, his dark eyes sharp with emotion.

Her eyes saddened slightly before hardening once again. "Sometimes it is better to not feel," she responded flatly as she walked away from him, leaving him behind with the dead.

* * *

Neji arrived thirty minutes early at the gate to find Sakura already perched in her tree, the one closest to the gate. He nodded at her as he walked by, not hearing her land behind him, and not needing to. The team had worked together for so long that they could practically predict each other's movements. It would be a good thing to have on a mission like this.

He glanced over his shoulder at the Hokage's office window where Naruto stood watching them leave, his arms crossed. The Hokage nodded to him in acknowledgement as Neji turned toward the path leading to Suna, already feeling the tension building in his shoulders.

Naruto's brow was furrowed as he watched two of his most prized shinobi, and family members, leave through the gates, and, for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, he asked himself if he was doing the right thing.

He heard Shikamaru turning the page of a tactical book nearby and asked, "Did I do the right thing?"

"Hn?" Shikamaru drawled, his eyes still drinking in the characters on the page he was reading, but Naruto knew better than to assume he wasn't listening.

"Sending Sakura to Suna. Am I doing the right thing?"

Shikamaru closed the book after dogearring the page and focused his chocolate orbs upon the silhouette of his kage and friend.

"Am I speaking to the Hokage, or am I speaking to Naruto?"

"Both," Naruto mused as he turned from the window, Neji and Sakura long gone from his sight.

"As a tactical maneuver it is beneficial to Konoha. With the person of interest out of the village, there is less likely to be a recurrent attack. However, politically it has put our ally in danger. If the enemy doesn't learn of her whereabouts, it is also not beneficial to Konoha either."

"Gaara knew the stakes when he agreed to this. As did I," Naruto defended, taking a seat across from the Nara.

Shikamaru raised a finger as he continued. "As a friend, I say you have the best interest of your friend, and our best medic, at heart. If this does succeed, it will benefit not only her, but our village and Suna's as well. It has the potential to strengthen the ties between our villages, and, if my theory is correct, we may have a semi-permanent ambassador in Suna from Konoha. Our ties would be inseparable."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly is your theory?" He inquired, his voice taking on a tone of interest.

"Was it not the letters that sparked this undercover operation of yours?" Shikamaru questioned with a sigh.

Naruto smirked slightly. "You think it could happen?"

Shikamaru leaned back into his chair, reopening his book as his eyes resumed their scanning of its pages before he stated simply, "I am a tactician. War is easy. Women are not."

Naruto snorted, remembering the time he had asked Shikamaru for advice on dating Hinata.

The Nara lamented the situation momentarily before speaking, "Women may be troublesome; however, I know my own kind. If Gaara didn't care for her, especially since he is the Kazekage, he wouldn't have agreed to this."

Naruto's blue eyes sparkled to life as he grinned widely and whispered, glancing out of his office window once more, "Maybe the 'Flower of Konoha' has one last blossoming left in her."

* * *

On the third day, the duo appeared upon the edge of the desert. It was late evening and the desert cold clung to their attire, making the trek slightly more cumbersome.

"We should be meeting a Suna nin soon," Neji spoke slightly above a whisper, his Mangusu mask firmly in place.

Sakura merely nodded in response. Her mind was elsewhere, hardening itself for the imminent meeting with the sand siblings. It had been nearly two years since she'd seen any of them, and she had no doubt it would be much different this time.

The village walls were coming into view on the horizon, but they still had a few hours of travel left before they would reach them. That was the infuriating thing about the desert; during the war, however, she had managed to find the sandy landscape, at times, beautiful.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head upward, removed her mask, and breathed in the cool, calming fresh air of the night. Upon opening her eyes, she took in the brightly lit expanse of sky littered with stars of all intensities and sizes. They seemed perfectly placed in the cosmos, and, for a moment, she couldn't help but wonder how things had turned out the way they had. If a star was so perfectly placed in the universe, so as to not be absorbed by another and exist, then why couldn't her life be the same? It felt as if her whole world had shifted, like some unseen force was eating away at it, slowly destroying it.

Mind clouding with confusion, she forced her gaze from the magnificent sight and back earthward. Neji paused abruptly and Sakura stopped short beside him, instantaneously replacing her mask.

"What do you see?" She asked quietly.

"Two nin moving swiftly toward our position," he uttered, focusing his Byakugan.

"Suna nin?"

"Possibly," he said, still concentrated upon the approaching nin.

"Orders," she asked, withdrawing two kunai from her weapons pouch.

"Evasion until identification," he stated, scanning the surrounding area for cover.

Immediately, Sakura placed a henge upon herself to hide her pink hair. If they were enemy nin, they would recognize her outlandish hair color instantly. Neji nodded at her brunette adaptation approvingly, but Sakura paid it little attention, her emerald eyes scanning the horizon for cover and finding none.

Deciding quickly on the best course of action, Sakura removed a scroll from her weapons pouch. Biting her thumb, she unraveled the scroll and signed it in blood. Holding the scroll between her fingers, she performed the final seal, and in a poof of smoke a small pug, who used apple scented shampoo, stood before her.

"What can I do for you Sakura-chan?" Pakkun said, looking around himself before taking a sniff. "Are you in Suna again?"

"I need your nose," she stated flatly, crouching before him, her gaze locked on the sand in the distance.

"Right," he replied turning toward the darkened expanse. "What am I looking for?"

"There are two approaching nin," she stated as Neji joined her in crouching.

After taking in a few lungfuls of air through his nose, Pakkun spoke again. "They smell like Suna. Very young Suna."

Sakura nodded as she rose to her feet. "Thank you, Pakkun."

Absentmindedly, she scratched him behind his ears, to which he gave an appreciative sound before he was gone in a small cloud.

Neji stood beside Sakura waiting for the nin to appear as he stated nonchalantly, "I didn't know you were in possession of that summoning scroll."

"Hn," she responded, before elaborating, "The Hokage felt it necessary that one of us have it."

"I see," he replied as the two Suna nin came into view, both looking very young and inexperienced.

"You are the nin from Konoha?" the older of the two males asked sizing up the pair before him.

"We are," Neji replied, removing the mission scroll from his pack and handing it to the nin for him to inspect.

"Right," the nin replied, handing the scroll back to Neji before meeting his and Sakura's gaze. "We will escort you to the village."

* * *

Gaara had gone before ranks of shinobi to give speeches, he had debated adaptations to the village's security with elders, and he had gone through the trials of becoming Kazekage. However, this was the first time, in his short life, that he felt the notion of becoming sick, and the fact that Temari was pacing back and forth in front of his desk wasn't helping matters.

"I don't understand you, Gaara. She hasn't spoken to you in years, and when all of a sudden she needs you, you jump at the bait. You are a Kazekage! You cannot be making impulsive decisions because of some kunoichi!" She thundered, her green eyes sharp with anger.

"Temari, since when were you concerned about how I made decisions or what I made them on?" He retorted, a slight edge to his voice and his eyes boring into hers. He leaned back in his chair, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Since you started to bend over backward for a woman who left you out to dry," she snapped sharply.

His seafoam eyes narrowed considerably as her piercing green ones clashed with his in a battle of obstinacy that he knew, in the end, he would win. He sighed, taking a breath to calm himself.

"Her village was attacked-" he started calmly.

"That was two years ago, Gaara! A lot happens in two years. Look how much you, how much Suna has changed in two years," she interrupted before sighing as she laid her hands on his desk leaning against it. Worry creased her forehead as she bowed her head and whispered, "I just don't want you hurt again."

Gaara leaned forward on his desk lacing his fingers together before him. He looked into his older sister's eyes evenly, "I appreciate your concern, Temari, but this isn't about me. This is about Sakura."

Temari jerked herself from his desk snorting, "Oh yeah! Because that makes this so much better! She's unstable, right? Possibly insane? So we have a mentally challenged kunoichi on the loose in Suna. Like Suna needs that," she scoffed as she began pacing the room once more.

Raising an elegant, uncolored brow Gaara peered at her curiously. "The same could have been said of me at one point in my life."

"That isn't the same-" she started her gaze returning to his.

"But it is," he retorted, straightening his back and crossing his arms. His gaze hardened and his voice was firm. "Do you know what saved me Temari?" He demanded pausing as if waiting for her to respond before continuing. "Friendship. Uzumaki Naruto extended his hand to me in one of the, if not the, single darkest moment of my life. Maybe what she needs right now is a friend. That I can offer, if not for her sake, then for Naruto's."

Temari remained silent as Gaara rose from his seat and walked toward the window that gave him a clear view of his village. The warm glow of the lanterns outside of the houses ignited the streets along with the moon and the stars giving it a warm, romantic glow. As he placed his hands on the windowsill, a wayward breeze threatened to ruffle his crimson locks, and his previous slight nausea forgotten at the sight of his village cozily tucked in for the night.

"I love my village. It is beautiful and rough; comforting and cruel. Opposites in pure harmony." He paused, letting a passing breeze ruffle his red hair. "If anything can save her, Suna can, because it once saved me."

He sighed once more, turning toward Temari, who stared at him, wonder reflected in her green eyes as they studied his for a few moments longer.

"Alright, Gaara. I will trust you, and Suna," she said softly.

"Thank you, Temari," he responded calmly as he made his way back toward his desk.

He had just taken his seat when four figures made their way swiftly down the streets of the village, as silent as the night itself. The nausea returned to his stomach tenfold as all of the past memories and emotions flooded his system, and he gritted his teeth in an attempt to keep whatever threatened to resurface into the world back down.

"Temari, open the window further," he stated, knowing that they would be brought to his office as he had specified.

As soon as she had, four figures poured into the room, and the one in the Okami mask, in the center, held his rapt attention.

* * *

Sakura had felt invigorated as she sprinted through the streets of Suna once more, a reservoir of memories breaking the dam in her mind with its intensity. Her lips had turned upward slightly because of it, not that anyone saw.

Upon entering the village, she had dropped her henge and her pale pink hair glowed in the moonlight. For the first time in a long time, Sakura felt alive.

"When are we meeting the Kazekage?" Neji sounded from her right, his opal eyes curiously studying his partner with mild interest. Even if she were masked, he had grown to know the kunoichi too well to not notice the slight change in her demeanor. She seemed almost happy.

"Immediately," responded the younger, blonde nin as he threw a glance back at the Konoha shinobi.

This was when Sakura felt a slight twinge in her stomach. She, however, ignored it as the nin in front of her started sprinting. Understanding that they were taking the fast way to the Kazekage's office, Sakura's lips split into a wide smirk. She'd always wanted to try this.

Sprinting ahead with the other two nin, Sakura leaped onto the Kazekage's tower without abandon. She heard one of the nin behind her bark a laugh at her antics, but she didn't care.

Obviously more practiced at this than she, the sand nin caught up to her in no time and she slowed to match her partner's pace. The window opened and all of the nin gracefully, as was their art, landed soundlessly on the floor of the office. Sakura caught a glimpse of a shock of red hair as she bounded over the lip of the window and, surprisingly, she nearly missed her footing, but no one else seemed to notice.

She landed silently in a crouched position between the shinobi around her. Removing her Anbu mask as per protocol, she instead hung it around her neck, keeping her eyes lowered. The other shinobi were dismissed with an unseen hand gesture and leaned against the walls awaiting further orders. This left her directly before the Kazekage himself.

She and Neji rose at the same time, but he didn't speak. Knowing that the Kazekage must be greeted, Sakura waited several more moments before bending at the waist. She closed her eyes as she spoke evenly.

"Kazekage-sama," she acknowledged before straightening herself and immediately noticed Temari's position to the aforementioned kage's right. She wasn't surprised. She also noted that Kankuro's presence was absent.

"Sakura," he acknowledged, a softer tone than he cared to admit permeating his voice.

She felt a twinge in her chest as he spoke her first name. Her emerald eyes glanced to meet his seafoam orbs, and in that instant her breath nearly caught. He was exactly the same as she remembered, perhaps a little older, his hair definitely tamer but still holding its spiky nature. That was all that she could, from her position, decipher that had changed about him, at least physically.

Then it happened. As if her mind caught onto her display of emotion, her eyes became void of all feeling and warmth that had previously been there, shutting her down completely as her jaw clenched slightly. This was the first time in two years she had let a semblance of emotion seep through her ironclad façade, and it was unacceptable, deadly even. It was what had destroyed her once before, and could do so again. She'd have to be more careful from now on.

Gaara's own voice had sounded foreign to him, as he had spoken her name to her for the first time in years. He maintained his calm air, but the rush of memories that assaulted him when her eyes met his had nearly sent him off kilter. The nausea from before had intensified, but was now masked by an unprecedented excitement at having her here again. With great difficulty, he pushed down his torrential, nearly out of control emotions. He wasn't a raging teenager in his adolescent years, he was the Kazekage in his early twenties, and he needed to act like it.

As he inhaled imperceptibly to steady himself, he also noticed that her partner, Hyuuga Neji, had yet to speak, instead seeming to observe her with apparent interest. Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to decipher whether or not it was due to an outright order, or a personal interest.

Chancing a quick glance toward her person, he properly took in the changes that had overtaken the woman he had once known so well. Black attire replaced her normally red and otherwise colorful garb. A black half-mask now obscured half of her face for a reason unknown to him, and thick black eyeliner intensified the green of her eyes, making them look darker and colder, and the usual spark they had held was absent. Every inch of her body was covered in black, as if she were permanently in a state of mourning. However, the purple rhombus was still proudly displayed beneath the tips of her bangs proudly. A sign of unprecedented power that he knew she had in spades. It was the only unchanging, familiar, feature to him. Even her hair had grown longer.

It was Temari that broke the deafening silence that followed.

"By protocol when meeting the Kazekage, you are to remove all articles obscuring your face," she snapped garnering a neutral look from emerald eyes.

He inwardly sighed. _'And so it begins_.'

Sakura had been expecting some sort of animosity from Temari, and so wasn't disappointed when it started forthright. They had grown close before the attack, nearly sisters by the time she left, but it was only natural that she was reacting so strongly. Things were different now.

In an attempt to divert the crisis, Neji came forth to hand the scroll to the Kazekage as Sakura spoke.

"According to section 11-b of article 180, a shinobi in disguise will be allowed to withhold one's appearance from others even in the presence of a kage when one is unsure of the intentions of persons in the vicinity." Sakura's monotonous voice resounded in the quiet room.

"Are you saying you think I'm a traitor?" Temari demanded, a slight snarl marring her normally pretty face.

"No," Sakura drawled as she crossed her arms before glancing at the escorting shinobi leaning against the walls implicatively. "But they might be."

Temari's emotional display ranged from irritation to anger to outright disbelief. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the indecipherable utterances of the obviously angered kunoichi.

"Then how are we to identify you?" Temari growled once she found her coherent voice, her eyes sharp with animosity.

Sakura uncrossed her arms and shucked her vest that fell to the ground with a solid thunk. She didn't care to notice the looks the vest received from the room as she placed two fingers to the Anbu symbol on her shoulder, pulsing chakra into it where a series of numbers glowed brightly.

"In accordance to Shinobi Rights, article two, section 4-a, upon the advancement to elite forces within a hidden village, a means of identification is to be imprinted upon each individual of a given force. This number will follow the shinobi throughout their career and will be printed upon any given document that contains their name," she stated once more.

Looking murderous, Temari glared at her openly as Gaara glanced over the scroll in his hand. There, as she said, was a strand of numbers beneath the name Haruno Sakura. It was standard protocol, something Temari had already known. Gaara let the right side of his mouth twitch upward in a ghost of a smirk at the statement that had succinctly put his eldest sibling in her place.

Sakura replaced her vest as Temari clenched her jaw in agitation. Her emerald gaze scanned the room once more, noticing that Kankuro had still to appear. Sakura's brow furrowed slightly.

"Where is Kankuro?" She stated evenly, her gaze held on nothing in particular.

The Kazekage's eyes lifted to hers momentarily. She could see his jaw muscles jump slightly. She recognized that tick. He was debating something.

"He's in a coma," Temari snapped bitterly as she crossed her arms glaring into Sakura's person.

That struck a chord somewhere inside of Sakura. She nodded curtly in Temari's direction who only glared at the pink-haired kunoichi.

Gaara was through with the posturing. He sighed as Temari's tone reflected nothing but bitterness toward the person sent here to be helped.

Sending a reprimanding look Temari's way, he spoke to the other nin in the room, "Take Haruno Sakura to her accommodations at the Sabaku estate. Hyuuga Neji," he said, looking to the quiet, pale-eyed leader of this team, "I ask that you remain here for a debrief."

The Hyuuga nodded as Sakura inclined her head toward both he and Temari before she left following the other sand nin out. Once the door was closed and the footsteps had receded, he sighed. His fingers steepled before him, he glanced at the remaining Konoha shinobi.

"I assume you are aware of the nature of this particular mission," he queried, his gaze intent on the Byakugan wielder.

"I am," Neji retorted, leaning against the wall of the office and crossing his arms, his pale eyes fixed upon the Kazekage.

"And I assume that you are qualified to answer any of my questions regarding her mental status?" Gaara inquired once more studying Neji's countenance for any sign of inconsistencies.

"I am no medic," Neji responded, barely restraining a sigh of his own. "But I know her enough to understand what is normal for her and what is not."

Gaara nodded in understanding as he leaned back in his chair when Temari spoke.

"And I suppose it is normal for her to demean officials from the village she is currently residing in?"

Neji's eyes narrowed as his gaze trained to the fan wielder, "With all due respect, ambassador," he stated evenly, "It was you who questioned her choice to wear the half-mask. Yet, I do not recall once Hatake Kakashi ever having been disallowed such a privilege while in Suna."

Temari's forest green eyes narrowed. "Hatake Kakashi was also not potentially insane."

"While that could have been debated on many grounds," Neji stated curtly, his eyes focused on the Kazekage. "Haruno Sakura is not insane. She is damaged but by no means does she warrant that diagnosis," he finished, glaring once more at Temari.

"Then what is wrong with her?" Gaara questioned, leaning forward in his seat once more, his eyes sharp with concentration.

"She is incapable, at this time, of maintaining emotions any longer, particularly those that revolve around emotional pain," Neji stated, his voice softening as his brow furrowed in deep thought.

"What happened to make her this way?" Temari asked curiously, for once sounding concerned, as her green eyes softened slightly.

"With respect, ambassador, that is not my place," Neji responded, his gaze refocusing on the people in the room.

Gaara nodded, having received the information he required. "You are dismissed, Hyuuga Neji. Temari, please escort Hyuuga-san to his quarters at the estate."

Temari nodded curtly before walking from the room, Neji in tow. Once the sound of their footsteps had receded entirely, he signed heavily, brow furrowing. Collapsing in a very un-kage-like fashion on his desk, he closed his eyes. He could feel a migraine coming on, but that was pushed to the back of his mind. He had more pressing matters to attend before he could succumb to such a frivolous thing.

Gaara opened his eyes slowly, pondering the source of his problems at the moment: Haruno Sakura. He fingered the scroll before him and searched for her name before tracing the figures. Closing his eyes once more, he sighed heavily, worry etched across his face and brow, openly displayed for the empty room to see.

When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper. "What happened to you… Sakura…"


	3. Chapter 2: A Challenge

**Previously on Shattered...**

_Temari's forest green eyes narrowed. "Hatake Kakashi was also not potentially insane."_

_"While that could have been debated on many grounds," Neji stated curtly, his eyes focused on the Kazekage. "Haruno Sakura is not insane. She is damaged but by no means does she warrant that diagnosis," he finished, glaring once more at Temari._

_"Then what is wrong with her?" Gaara questioned, leaning forward in his seat once more, his eyes sharp with concentration._

_"She is incapable, at this time, of maintaining emotions any longer, particularly those that revolve around emotional pain," Neji stated, his voice softening as his brow furrowed in deep thought._

_"What happened to make her this way?" Temari asked curiously, for once sounding concerned, as her green eyes softened slightly._

_"With respect, ambassador, that is not my place," Neji responded, his gaze refocusing on the people in the room._

_Gaara nodded, having received the information he required. "You are dismissed, Hyuuga Neji. Temari, please escort Hyuuga-san to his quarters at the estate."_

_Temari nodded curtly before walking from the room, Neji in tow. Once the sound of their footsteps had receded entirely, he signed heavily, brow furrowing. Collapsing in a very un-kage-like fashion on his desk, he closed his eyes. He could feel a migraine coming on, but that was pushed to the back of his mind. He had more pressing matters to attend before he could succumb to such a frivolous thing._

_Gaara opened his eyes slowly, pondering the source of his problems at the moment: Haruno Sakura. He fingered the scroll before him and searched for her name before tracing the figures. Closing his eyes once more, he sighed heavily, worry etched across his face and brow, openly displayed for the empty room to see._

_When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper. "What happened to you… Sakura…"_

* * *

**Updated:** _11/12/15_

* * *

_A special thanks to: **Far2addicted**, for betaing this fiction._

_You make me look like a pro._

* * *

**_Disclaimer: Naruto, in all facts and facilities belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I just borrow them for a while. All emotional rollercoasters, heartbreaks, pent up suspense, plotlines, and what have you belong to me. Enjoy._**

* * *

A Challenge

_The sky was black as thunder rolled, echoing throughout an expanse that seemed endless in all directions. A cold, strong wind billowed around her, seeming to rip through her usual attire and seep into Sakura's core. Raising an arm to shield her eyes as her hair flailed around her face wildly, the wind growing more violent, her emerald eyes scanned the darkness for anything discernable._

_Disoriented, she took a step forward before a great roar of flames resounded behind her. Pivoting on the ball of her foot, Sakura spun around quickly to see a white, two-story, house completely engulfed in angry, red flames. Her emerald orbs widened, a look of sheer horror clearly displayed in their depths, as a shrill scream ripped from deep inside the house._

_"No," she whispered brokenly before launching herself into action, hurtling toward the burning building._

_She was scarcely a foot away from the structure when its integrity finally gave way to the destructive force of the fire, and the second floor fell completely into the first, collapsing into a flaming pile of rubble. Sakura watched helplessly as the building fell, the agonized scream ringing in her ears._

_"No!"_

Awakening with a start, a wide-eyed Sakura sat straight up in her bed at the Sabaku estate, a light film of cold sweat coating her body. Peering around her, she recognized her surroundings and sighed as she fell back onto the bed, closing her eyes as her quickened breathing began to calm.

Reopening her eyes, Sakura stared at the ceiling with an empty gaze as her pulse calmed. It was the same recurring nightmare that she'd had since that night two years ago, varying in intensity each time, but always the same. Always ending in a collapsing building that she couldn't ever reach in time, and a scream, his scream, which would forever haunt her subconscious.

Turning her head to the side, she peered around the room she'd been occupying for the past week. The Third Kazekage had spared no expense when building the house for his children, just as the Fourth hadn't in providing for the Konoha nin's needs during their stay.

Sakura was housed in a second story room with a pleasant view of the village from her bed, and in the bathroom, which connected to her room; she could peer out at the desert itself. It was an exquisite sight.

The room was cream in color with black crown molding and baseboards, and floored with lush carpeting. There was a dresser and desk made of dark oak, most likely imported from Konoha, and the bed was placed against left wall and centered in the room, adorned with black sheets and a deep red comforter bordered along the edges in black satin, the pillows lush and easy to fall into. The room itself was spacious with enough floor room to perform her katas if she so pleased. The Kazekage really had tried to make their stay as comfortable as possible.

Glancing at the clock on the wall that read twelve in the afternoon, she rose from her bed and made her way to the bathroom. Pulling down her half mask, she splashed her face with cold water to awaken herself further before starting the shower. Her shift started in a few hours.

Since arriving in Suna, she and Neji had taken upon seeing to the personal security of the Kazekage in shifts. Neji would accompany him throughout the day to his meetings, standing guard in his office and acting as his silent shadow, while Sakura would take over at four or six in the evening for the night shift. It had worked smoothly so far.

She peered out of the window momentarily, taking in the orange, warm looking sand, and her thoughts wandered. Her eyes narrowed in thought as she braced her arms against the white porcelain of the sink. The acute control she maintained over herself, even in an unconscious state, was slipping, but why? She glanced up into the mirror before her taking in her reflection for the first time in a long time. If she were completely honest with herself, she didn't recognize the person staring back. But why should she?

Quickly standing, Sakura dismissed her line of thought. She had made her decision and she wouldn't go back. It was for the good of the village; she was more useful to them this way. In the past two years, she had accomplished more than she ever did while entertaining the luxury of emotion. She had done more for the village, as a whole, serving with the iron fist of indifference, killing many men, and defending countless targets. But why, now that she was charged with such a high-risk mission, were her ironclad walls threatening to chip away into non-existence? It was unacceptable. The Kazekage's life depended on her ability to maintain a calculating and cold indifference. Her eyes hardened once more; she would not fail.

Refusing to allow her mind to wander any further in any direction, and after reaffirming her beliefs solidly in her mind once more, Sakura moved to remove her garments, then turned to step into the shower.

Gaara was signing a piece of paper for a new irrigation program when he felt her chakra spike. Sea foam eyes narrowed as he glanced in the direction of his home.

_'Sakura?_'

He made to stand, but Neji's voice stopped him.

"She's fine."

Gaara glanced at the Hyuuga, who had his Byakugan activated and was staring intently in the direction of the estate.

"Are you sure?" Gaara inquired, his eyes still narrowed as he sent minute amounts of his own chakra toward her location.

The Hyuuga leaned against the wall in a relaxed posture and nodded, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "I'm sure."

Gaara studied Neji's figure for a few moments longer before turning back to his paperwork.

Sakura had been quiet at best for the past few days. Gaara had attempted to start conversation with her several times, but it had only lasted a few sentences before silence had ensued once more. However, with the Hyuuga it seemed to be different. They didn't speak, but they did communicate. At first, Gaara had equivocated it to the fact that they were on an Anbu team together, and on missions they had to communicate in silence; he was certain they had mastered that art by now. But, as time had gone on, he had begun to suspect that it was more than that. With understanding shared in glances, posture, eye contact, and gestures. They seemed to have their own language, and the Hyuuga seemed to know her almost on an intimate level; he could read her perfectly and she him.

Gaara's sea foam eyes narrowed on the sheet before him. Could it be that they were in some sort of relationship that Naruto had overlooked? It was highly possible.

Gaara was no fool. He knew he still harbored feelings for Sakura, but it seemed she no longer did for him. The last thing he wanted to do was mix emotions into the situation when he was suppose to be helping her. He had decided the best course of action for now was to wait, especially since he wasn't sure of her current relationship with the Hyuuga, if there was one at all.

Glancing once more at the Hyuuga, Gaara felt his insides clench. He'd have to inquire about the possibility of such a relationship if he were to help Sakura. If his assumptions were correct, this coupe would be all for naught. It would mean her departure, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew it would be quite painful to see her leave again.

But if his suspicions were true, the eye contact she'd made with him the night of their arrival made no sense. He had felt her emotions that night, before some unseen force had halted their existence as soon as they had appeared. But why had they disappeared?

Neji was slightly concerned. It was normal for Sakura to have nightmares; she'd had them since the attack. Within the last year, though, they had lessened in intensity, but since their arrival in Suna, they returned with a seeming vengeance. He could see it in her posture, her responses, and the slight changes to her mannerisms. It was getting to his partner, and that was what bothered him.

It wasn't long before Temari decided to walk into the office with another stack of papers, nearly a mile high, for the Kazekage. Neji saw the slight slump in his shoulders as he took in the sheer magnitude of paperwork to be done, and had to suppress a smirk. To anyone else watching, the Kazekage's body language wouldn't have changed, but Neji had spent enough time with him as of late that he was beginning to pick up on these small indicators.

"I'm sure it's just signatures they require, Kazekage-sama," Neji offered sympathetically, closing his eyes again.

He heard a slight sigh and smirked. At least he didn't have that job.

* * *

The sun was near setting when the trio set off from the Kazekage's tower with the Sabaku estate in mind. Halfway into their travel, the black clad rosette met them, inclining her head in greeting.

"Haruno," Neji greeted as her beryl orbs scanned the three shinobi quickly. It went unnoticed by the other two, but Neji knew the purpose behind such looks. The medic she once was had been so ingrained into her by the Fifth Hokage that it was nearly second nature. She'd always held that compassion, and even her change in character could not seal that away.

"Hyuuga, Kazekage-sama, Sabaku-san," she intoned flatly before falling in step between Neji and Gaara rather easily.

Seafoam eyes scanned her countenance. She seemed unphased from whatever had her chakra spike earlier, but it only left Gaara curious if whatever it was happened regularly. At the time, the Hyuuga had seemed unconcerned by it, so perhaps he was just being paranoid with Naruto's mention of instability in mind.

"How did you sleep?" Gaara inquired amiably with a hint of curiosity.

"Well, Kazekage-sama," she replied unflinchingly.

Gaara's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Did something happen at the estate earlier today?"

Sakura felt and heard, more than saw, the scene from her waking terror pass through her mind, and out of reflex she subdued the shudder that threatened to rack her system at the mere mention of it. "No, everything has gone well, Kazekage-sama," she replied, nearly monotone.

The slight hesitation didn't go unnoticed by either male, who were now peering at her curiously. Meanwhile, Temari was stewing by Gaara's side. She couldn't understand how someone went from being so in love with an individual to near emotionless the next meeting, even years later. She had seen the letters and the reactions they had elicited from her brother. If it had been a one-sided affair on his part, she would have been more understanding, but she had read those letters and knew for a fact that the feelings were reciprocated at one point...

_Temari had been working with Gaara for days in preparation of negotiating with the village elders on a new irrigation system that would be cost efficient and not tax the life out of every Suna civilian in the process. The elders, set in their ways, weren't budging on anything, and though Temari and Gaara had reworked the plan several times to add in their many "conditions", they had yet to give in; Temari was about to give up._

_Sighing, the blonde peered over the piece of parchment she held in her hands at her Kazekage and brother. He was working tirelessly around the clock in order to meet demands and appease the council, all in an effort to provide a better quality of life to his people. A small smile appeared on her face, and her eyes softened as she took in the stalwart determination displayed on his face, which was construed in a mask of pure concentration. She was proud of him, of the man he had become. Their mother would have been too._

_Temari's gaze saddened slightly as, not for the first time, she wished her mother were here to see just how far Gaara had come, from the dark, twisted monster their own government had created him to be to the good, loyal, loving Kazekage and man he had grown into in his own right._

_Attempting to refocus her mind, Temari shifted the paper back into her line of sight as Kankuro strode into the room, quite nosily, causing an agitated tick to appear near the bridge of her nose. Fully intending to give him piece of her mind, Temari lowered the piece of paper in preparation to chew him royally before she took in the scene before her._

_Kankuro stood in front of Gaara, leaning against the desk toward him with an envelope pinched tightly between his forefingers and thumb, an eat-shit grin displayed broadly across his face. His eyes held the mischievous spark they had lacked since early on in their childhood, and all of this was directed entirely at Gaara. The aforementioned individual was clearly not amused by his brother's antics._

_Gaara held onto the opposite corner of the letter in the same manner as his sibling, his sea foam orbs impassively staring into Kankuro's mirthful chocolate eyes. His posture was more rigid, his elbow rested firmly on the desk before him, evidence that his hands had once been laced together before reaching for the offered letter. Obviously whatever he observed in Kankuro's behavior had set him on edge._

_Thoroughly confused, Temari rose to her feet, planning to question both of the men before her until Kankuro finally spoke._

_"It's from her, isn't it?" His tone was mirthful with a slight undertone of joy._

_Gaara kept his features schooled into a mask of indifference as he retorted in his airy tone whilst managing to maintain his impassive gaze. "I wouldn't know, since you haven't given me the letter yet."_

_Unimpressed with his little brother's reaction, or lack thereof, Kankuro released the envelope with a, "Tch," before making his way toward Temari, calling over his shoulder, "You're no fun, Gaara."_

_"I'm the Kazekage," Gaara muttered while turning his chair from them to open the letter. "I don't get to have fun."_

_As Kankuro reached her side, Temari leveled him with a confused look? "What was that about?"_

_"Just watch," Kankuro muttered with a smirk as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall beside her._

_Curiously, Temari stared at the back of Gaara's chair as the sound of ripping paper filled the quiet expanse. It was a few moments before Gaara turned his chair around to lay the three-page letter on the desk before him, his eyes seemingly drinking in every character on its surface, oblivious to the world around him. Whatever was on that paper had captivated his entire attention._

_Temari's brow furrowed more as she continued to observe his peculiar behavior, and, when a genuine smile broke across his normally neutral façade, her eyes widened. Glancing to Kankuro in question, who was now genuinely smiling at his brother, Temari could only utter a single question._

_"Who?"_

_Kankuro's smiled widened slightly as Gaara's shoulders finally relaxed. After days of being overstressed and overburdened, Gaara had managed to finally find the one thing that relaxed him:_

_"Sakura."_

Temari had never seen her brother react to anything in such a way, before or since. Sakura had meant everything to him, whether or not she had known it at the time.

Temari herself had spent extended time with Sakura during the war, and liked to think she had become friends with her, or, at the very least, knew her personality enough to see when she was being genuine; those letters were sincere. The girl wore her heart on her sleeve, and, undoubtedly, was the same way in her letters. Well, she used to be.

Now, here she stood, two years later, showing nothing, and Gaara…. Gaara was hurting. Whether or not he said it aloud, Temari could see it in the way he looked at her. It was in his eyes; he was still in love with the medic. Even if he had pushed that notion from the forefront of his mind, it was still there, like a thready pulse waiting for the heart to jump back into rhythm.

The fan master's temper was rising to a boiling point with the seemingly unfeeling kunoichi from Konoha, and Neji was aware of it. Her posture screamed hostility, yet Sakura remained unresponsive to it, as if she were expecting such treatment from the blonde. However, Sakura knew more about the sand siblings than he did. Maybe this was just normal for Temari.

The rest of the walk had been spent in silence until they reached the outskirts of the Sabaku estate, where the blonde finally put a voice to her rage.

"What is wrong with you?" Temari growled through gritted teeth, her green eyes pinning the rosette with a glare.

No emotional change was present in Sakura's face as she returned the eye contact nonchalantly; posture was relaxed as if Temari posed no threat to her.

"Temari," Gaara stated airily, eyeing his sister in warning.

"No Gaara," she spat back, her green eyes sharp as she looked upon her brother. The edges softening slightly, she continued quietly, "She has no idea what she's doing to you, but I do."

Gaara's eyes narrowed as he was about to respond, but her voice cut them both off.

"Would you like to spar." It was not voiced as a question, rather more of a statement, as if Sakura knew that a fight was what Temari was looking for.

Both siblings turned to look at her as a Suna wind whipped up around them, setting her strawberry locks swaying in the ponytail she now kept them in, the short bangs ruffling in front of her forehead, accentuating the purple rhombus. Her eyes were almost dead looking, resigned to an unspoken fate, and her stance was relaxed and calm but confident.

It was the first time Gaara had really seen Sakura since her arrival. The dimly lit office that night had not done justice to all the changes in her, most prominent being the look in her eyes that he saw so clearly now. Something exponential had changed in her life, had changed her. But what?

Temari's eyes narrowed before she moved to stand before Sakura, attempting to bore holes into her skull with her glare. It enraged her that Sakura showed no animosity back, that she wasn't reacting. Why didn't she feel?

Neji, who had been merely observing the entire exchange, moved to stand next to the Kazekage. "If you were looking for the changes in Haruno, now would be the time to pay attention," he hinted, his gaze never leaving the two kunoichi.

Sea foam orbs acknowledged him before turning back to the 'spar'. It had yet to start, both kunoichi just staring at each other.

After analyzing her opponent, Sakura opted not to use any substantial weapons. Temari was a wind wielder, which meant fire jutsu would have been her best option. However, she negated that too as she shucked her vest, tossing it to the side, where a plume of sand burst forth into the air upon impact.

Temari smirked haughtily reminiscent of the look on her face during the chunin exams against Shikamaru. "Is that supposed to impress me?" she queried condescendingly.

Sakura just leveled her with an emotionless gaze as she took her stance in a taijutsu manner that was very Lee-like, one hand before her and the other behind her back. It was the ready stance. She was going to allow Temari the first move.

_'Your mistake,_' Temari thought, opening her fan to show three Suna moons. She wasn't going to hold back.

Sakura hadn't expected her to.

_Wind Release: Great Task of the Dragon._

Sakura glanced skyward as storm clouds appeared above her, followed by the funnel of the tornado that descended upon her seconds later. She braced upon impact as sand whipped up around her, threatening to sweep her away. Peering up into the eye, she saw darkened sky on the other end and only smirked.

Gaara glared at Temari for using such a strong technique. Sand moved swiftly in order to diffuse the tornado when he felt a hand on his arm, and he glanced over at the Hyuuga to see his Byakugan activated. "Just wait."

Seconds later, there was an earth-shaking implosion from within the tornado as earth shot out from all directions, dissipating the wind altogether. Sakura leapt from the top of the cyclone toward Temari, fist at the ready.

Temari's eyes widened as she managed to dodge out of the way just as Sakura's fist made contact with the ground, shattering it and sending sand shooting out in all directions. In the next breath, Sakura was up and charging Temari once again.

Gaara watched on in silent concern, his arms crossed. "Don't worry," the Hyuuga spoke again. "She's holding back. She won't kill Temari."

Temari grimaced at being on the defensive for the past two minutes while barely managing to dodge every fist Sakura directed at her. In this moment, she began to remember why Sakura had garnered such a reputation during the war, and such fear.

_'She's holding back?'_

Gaara looked on, semi-shocked that the battle prowess displayed was merely a fraction of her actual ability. Temari was a skilled kunoichi in her own right, maybe even the strongest kunoichi in Suna, and she was entirely on the defensive against Sakura, who looked every bit as calm and collected as she had when the battle began.

Gaara looked over at the Hyuuga curiously, who was focused on the battle at hand, and decided it was as good a time as any for his inquiry.

Neji, feeling the Kazekage's gaze upon him, met his stare. However, his next words were not what he expected.

"What is your relationship with Haruno Sakura?"

During the next dodge, Temari sent more chakra to her, feet clearing a greater distance to grant her more time.

_Wind Release: Great Cast Net._

Blades of wind raced toward Sakura and struck her dead center mass before a poof of smoke was seen and a log fell in her place. Temari's gaze narrowed as she looked around her.

_'Substitution. A genin technique, but efficient nonetheless. Where is she?'_

As Temari turned, Sakura appeared behind her, sending a swift kick to her head that was blocked by the fan at the last second. Temari's eyes widened slightly.

_'She's gotten faster.'_

Temari grimaced as she blocked the next two consecutive kicks, sliding backward on the sand even after reinforcing her footing with chakra.

_'When did she get this strong?!'_

Sakura sent one last kick at Temari, causing her to slide back several feet, and Sakura landed crouched with one hand on the sand for balance. Her expression was concentrated and serious, but her eyes still held that dead look in them. Temari just didn't get it. Did she ever show emotion anymore?

"My relationship with Haruno Sakura is purely professional, Kazekage-sama," Neji assured Gaara after recomposing himself from such a question. "We were, are, on the same AnBu Squad and are friends outside of work." He regarded the battle once more before turning back to the Kazekage. "I have no intention of taking her from you, Gaara."

Gaara winced slightly, nearly unnoticeably, from the blunt confession, but his eyes still searched the Hyuuga's. There was something more that he wasn't sharing.

Neji sighed, wondering if he should impart this information to the Kazekage, and decided that it wouldn't harm anything if he withheld certain details. "I was present when the 'incident' happened. This could explain her current 'attachment' to me. I understand what happened more than anyone else for only the fact that I was there."

Gaara studied the Hyuuga and decided to believe him. There were none of the usual ticks that followed a lie present in his countenance, nor did he hesitate in his pattern of speech. An unknown weight on his shoulders lifted at the information; there was no romantic competition to be had from the Hyuuga.

Gaara had turned back to the battle when the Hyuuga spoke next. "Never before had I thought it possible to see someone's soul...shatter."

The Kazekage glanced back at Neji, who seemed to have that same far away look in his eyes that Naruto had expressed when recounting the memory of Sakura from that night. His eyes narrowed in concern. What had happened to her?

Neji returned the Kazekage's gaze. "Trust me when I say death would have been kinder than her current condition."

The conviction in the Hyuuga's gaze gave him pause. He turned back to the rosette kunoichi, who was in a crouching position facing off against his sister. Brow furrowing in concern, he wondered for the upunteenth time what could have possibly broken the strong-will woman he had once known into so many little pieces.

"How does one get close to her now?" he questioned curiously, momentarily not recognizing his own voice due to its aged sound.

Neji glanced sidelong at the Kazekage. "Through training."

Sakura waited a few seconds before pushing off of the ground and charging Temari once more. The wind master glared at her wearily.

_Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance._

Temari held her hand out before her as an air current shot out at the ground before her, kicking up the sand in a blinding dust cloud, and with a movement from her hand, she caused it to swirl around Sakura. The strange movement of the sand in the air around her gave her a sense of deja vu for some reason, but she quickly shook it off before performing several hand signs.

Temari glared into the dust storm before her with intense eyes, seeing no movement from within, which only caused her to become more suspicious. She had taken a single step forward when she felt her fan being wrenched out of her hand. Glancing backward she saw Sakura standing beside a hole in the ground where her fan was now lodged.

_'Headhunter Jutsu. Clever. A second or two sooner, and that would have had me.'_

Sakura rushed Temari, sending a barrage of punches and kicks her way in a near leisurely manner. However, the hits landed heavy on Temari's end, which caused her to grimace. She was losing and she knew it.

"Kiba and Lee are the second closest to her before Tenten," Neji continued, noticing the spar was drawing to a close. Temari hadn't received a single mark from the entire ordeal, but that was just a show of how precise Sakura had become with her attacks, or lack thereof.

"Not Naruto?" Gaara inquired, his own gaze riveted on the exchange before them.

Sakura had grown. Every move she made was executed with a timed accuracy that not many could master. She had purposefully never laid a single mark on Temari. For a person without feelings, her actions betrayed otherwise.

Neji almost smirked at the question. "The Hokage's duties keep him busy on most days, and then if, for whatever reason, he manages to escape those duties familial clan responsibilities limit his time further. I imagine the Hokage hasn't sparred with anyone in quite some time, much less Sakura, who is almost never present within the village walls."

Gaara cast the Hyuuga a questioning glance to which he responded, "Haruno is one of the few qualified for solo S-ranked missions within the village. One of the few we have left in any case."

Gaara felt for his friend. He knew Naruto loved Sakura like a sister, and now knowing that he'd had no time to try and reconnect with the kunoichi, he could understand his desperation in seeking his help. But how? How could he reach her? Someone who, supposedly, had no existing emotions?

Gaara's gaze hardened once more as stress gathered in the back of his skull that would later undoubtedly result in a headache. He sighed for the first time since the spar had started, feeling as if he'd undergone a fight of his own. This 'favor' was getting more and more difficult by the second.

Temari grimaced as a punch nearly broke through her defenses, but it was unlike others directed at her. Sakura seemed to be lowering the intensity of her attacks as her opponent weakened, giving her just as much as she could take, no more and no less. It would be an excellent training technique if employed correctly.

A split second, that's all it took. Temari had been distracted by her thoughts for a moment too long, and when her eyes refocused, Sakura had a kunai held six inches from her throat. All the anger within the blonde had long diminished by now, and had been replaced with questions.

Temari wasn't just angry because Sakura had hurt Gaara, because she had stopped responding to his letters, or that she hadn't inquired any more than she had with Kankuro. Temari was angry because she didn't care anymore, not just about Gaara and Kankuro, but also about her.

During the war, she and the pink haired medic had bonded tightly, and for a few months it was like Temari actually had a family. The atmosphere with Sakura around was jovial and light. Sakura had cooked. Kankuro cracked jokes. Gaara had even laughed. And Temari had never felt more at home in her life than in those tents on the front lines, when they would all gather in the Kazekage's tent after dusk for mission reports, food, and quality time with those they cared about most.

No, Temari wasn't angry. She was heartbroken, and anger was the only way she knew how to express what she felt. The normally stoic, hardened blonde felt the beginnings of tears well up in her eyes and could just make out Sakura lowering the kunai. An emotion flashed across beryl eyes as Sakura continued to gaze into her own forest-green orbs. Not a word was spoken. No one moved.

Temari could feel the knot in her throat tighten. She could lose her own life. She could handle Kankuro being in a coma. She could deal with Gaara's constant mood swings had their correspondence been one sided, but she could not take losing Sakura like this.

She raised her deep green eyes to level Sakura with her gaze as countless emotions, unbidden, flashed across her own face. There was only one question forever drumming in her thoughts, and with a soft, barely audible tone, she voiced it.

"Why?"

In that moment, a change occurred in the other kunoichi. It was fleeting and small, but the depth of the emotion Temari had seen behind those beryl orbs struck a chord within the fan master. It was not just pain. There had been a deep anguish that she would ponder for hours after Sakura, so obviously broken now that Temari wondered how she had missed it before, voiced a simple reply before she turned and walked away.

"All of you are better off without me."


	4. Chapter 3: Comatose

**_Previously on Shattered:_**

_Temari could feel the knot in her throat tighten. She could lose her own life. She could handle Kankuro being in a coma. She could deal with Gaara's constant mood swings had their correspondence been one sided, but she could not take losing Sakura like this._

_She raised her deep green eyes to level Sakura with her gaze as countless emotions, unbidden, flashed across her own face. There was only one question forever drumming in her thoughts, and with a soft, barely audible tone, she voiced it._

_"Why?"_

_In that moment, a change occurred in the other kunoichi. It was fleeting and small, but the depth of the emotion Temari had seen behind those beryl orbs struck a chord within the fan master. It was not just pain. There had been a deep anguish that she would ponder for hours after Sakura, so obviously broken now that Temari wondered how she had missed it before, voiced a simple reply before she turned and walked away._

_"All of you are better off without me."_

* * *

**Updated:** _11/15/15_

* * *

_A special thanks to: **Far2addicted**, for betaing this fiction._

_Once again, you make me look like a pro._

* * *

**_Disclaimer: Naruto, in all facts and facilities belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I just borrow them for a while. All emotional rollercoasters, heartbreaks, and pent up suspense, plotlines and what have you belong to me. Enjoy._**

* * *

Comatose

* * *

It was early morning, and the sun had barely broken over the horizon as Sakura ventured inside the house to make her usual rounds. If she had to guess, it was probably about five or six o'clock. Her eyes, well adjusted to the darkness, made out the shapes of furniture as well as doorways and the halls that lead from them. Everything was still and quiet, a good sign. Nothing had changed in the hour that she had been absent.

The ninken were posted methodically around the estate's exterior as a warning system while Sakura patrolled the border or stationed herself at the best vantage point: the roof, where she could see all exits and entrances as well as any approaching person from the street or village wall that had the potential to get too close.

It had been a quiet night. Other than the occasional drunk that passed through and been redirected, there hadn't been any significant disturbances or intrusions upon the estate's ground. However, Sakura knew not to lower her guard. That was when one became vulnerable, and when mistakes were made. She'd already had her share of that in this lifetime.

Quietly, she made her way down the main hall, passing three bedrooms, two of which were occupied. The intended occupant of the third room was currently residing at the village hospital, fourth floor, right wing, room 445: Sabaku Kankuro.

She glanced at the door to the empty room, her expression unchanging, but feeling an emotion skirt around inside her chest as she raised a hand to press against the cold wood of the door, and when her fingers gently caressed it, her chest tightened.

Sakura knew something was very wrong with Kankuro to be in a coma this long. According to a conversation she had overheard between Neji and Temari, Kankuro had been unresponsive for nearly four months, which was the hypothesized time span for major injuries to heal. Thus, he should have been awakening by now, but he wasn't...and it was nearing the fifth month.

Her eyes narrowed slightly in thought. What was wrong with him? Suddenly, as if realizing her compromising position, Sakura jerked her hand from the door and turned from it swiftly, trying to cut off all the memories she was starting to remember. No, that wasn't right: trying to stop herself from beginning to feel more of the emotions that she had, once, normally harbored and then locked tightly inside of her.

Yes, being in Suna had awakened not just a part of her she thought she'd forgotten, but also the strength with which her emotions and memories used to course through her veins. It was alarming, to say the least, and now the kunoichi was struggling to keep them nonexistent. The battle was proving to be a taxing one, but one she would win nonetheless. Sakura had made her choice. She would not falter.

Venturing forth from her post by the door, she moved next to the Kazekage's door, sending a minute pulse of chakra through the floorboards. The only signature that registered was Gaara's. She'd made sure to tone down the strength of her own chakra to allow her the upper hand in the case there was an intruder, although the Kazekage was more than capable of handling himself and would have made her aware of another presence in the room, and also as to not disturb the Kazekage himself by jabbing her chakra into his in the middle of night.

She paused as she turned to leave this door, momentarily feeling as if she couldn't move. She could barely stand to be in this man's presence during his waking hours due to the whispers of emotional torment he caused her. Mere glances could set off the small crack that he had somehow caused, threatening to break her resolve. She sighed softly as she pried herself away, going to check on Neji before returning to the roof.

Once outside, Sakura felt like she could breathe once again. The cool desert air soothed her skin, flushed from stress, as she took in the wonder of the never-ending, starlit sky, the clearest view in Suna. Even in Konoha, things always seemed impede its splendor, but not here.

Tearing her eyes from the beautiful sight, Sakura molded her body into the lotus to meditate, a precaution to keep her control. Whenever she felt stretched thin, it was her means to regain balance, and she could allow losing herself, albeit very little, alone in the quiet of the night. This was not something she could allow daylight to see. Them to see. For the most part, it worked; during the day she was able to maintain her emotionless state in their presence, and even during most nights she could also keep her control. However, a few nights like this had happened since her arrival in Suna.

It had been four days since her spar with Temari. She hadn't been surprised about the question Temari had voiced, but what she had not expected was her own potent reaction to the blonde's emotions. Sakura had felt her control slip momentarily in Temari's presence, and that was not acceptable. It had set her at such unease that she had forgotten her vest on the field, which had later been returned by Hyuuga.

Another sigh escaped her and into the cold, early morning air, and not for the first time she reconsidered her coping decision, her choice not to feel. She could feel the muted ache in her chest, like scar tissue, that the loss of Junsuino had left her with, throbbing just beneath the surface and threatening to take her over once more.

To a civilian, her decision may have sounded crazy, but to a shinobi, emotions were dangerous...even fatal. In her line of work, she could not afford to be swayed by grief, especially now that she was assigned a security detail to the Kazekage. His life depended on her clarity of thought. Sakura had broken rule number twenty-five of the shinobi handbook more times than she could count in the past, and each time had thought nothing of it...until it became more than she was able to bear.

Sakura had loved her teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, more than most at points, but losing Junsuino...that was something entirely different. Sasuke may have shattered her heart when he left, crippling her emotionally and leaving her with nearly non-existent self-esteem, but she had come back from that stronger and better than before. This was not just crippling. This was… there were no words to describe her deeply seated loss that would be forever ingrained into her being, into her soul. It was not something she could ignore or outgrow in time; it was permanent and everlasting and would never leave, just like the pain never would. Thus, she had to maintain control over her emotions at all times, because if she didn't, they could destroy her...as they almost had before.

She was broken from her thoughts with the soft sounds of padded feet reverberating off of the estate's walls. That was a perk of this 'bond', as the canines called it, that she now had with Kakashi's ninken. They had heightened her sense of hearing, smell - which was unfortunate at times - and sight. It had been unexpected at first, but she wasn't entirely surprised. Pakkun, the dog that still used the same shampoo as her, had explained everything upon questioning during her second summoning of him.

Uhei, the Greyhound, and Akino, who looked like a mixture of a Shiba Inu and a Collie, padded up to her, slowing down significantly. Akino sat down before her, seeming to studying her visage.

"Well," Sakura said flatly, but the canine knew it was more of a question than anything. He'd known her long enough to figure that out. He noted the fatigue in her posture and the barely noticeable dark circles that her half-mask hid the majority of. Something was bothering his leader.

"Nothing to report," his tenor sounded against the darkness. "All is clear."

"Hn," was Sakura's reply as the sun broke further across the horizon, igniting her features with its golden tones when she turned to gaze upon it. It was a beautiful sunrise. Soft sounds were heard from the building below her and she turned to Akino.

"Tell the pack to go rest. I'll finish out watch." She made to stand, as did Akino and Uhei.

"Aye Sakura-ue," the canine said as he turned to leave, Uhei following quickly behind.

Sakura peered after their retreating forms before bowing her head. Her shift was almost complete. Rising slowly from the lotus position, she jumped from the roof, landing directly in front of the door to the estate and pausing momentarily to steel herself before opening it.

She could pick up on the telltale signs of someone stirring in the kitchen and quietly made her way to the doorway to spot a shock of red moving about swiftly. He was lost in thought, clad in a casual, black yukata, mindlessly completing a routine of tasks that would grant him his meal.

He seemed relaxed in his own home, which was, at this time, deadly.

The "organization" had infiltrated Konoha seemingly unnoticed, hiding themselves amongst its citizens. It was like an infestation, a few bugs infecting the entire colony. People had been killed in secret, disposed of, and impersonated with henges, even the children. That was how their forces had been so vast and how the Konoha ninja had been overwhelmed so easily.

_'Vermin.'_

"Sakura?"

Mentioned kunoichi was broken from her reverie by his airy, quiet tone. She could feel that the muscles of her face had morphed into an expression of near animosity that had been leveled on the Kazekage as she zoned out.

Inclining her head ever so slightly Sakura greeted the man. "Kazekage-sama. My apologies."

His eyes held a deep concern while his face remained neutral. Those eyes would be her undoing, but her gaze never faltered, refusing to admit defeat or be seen as weak.

Gaara had never seen an expression so volatile in her eyes in his entire time of knowing her. It was bloodthirsty, almost hungry, even. Intense. He'd only ever seen that expression marr one other's face, and that had been Uchiha Sasuke at the Five Kage Summit.

Seafoam orbs narrowed slightly as he stood alert and focused intently on her. If she was nervous she didn't show it, nor did she look like she cared at all that he was openly analyzing her body language. That was aloof at best. Perhaps he should heed Hyuuga's advice and spar with her; it might open some doors.

There were so many things bouncing around in the red head's mind. Questions. Concerns. Worries. Fears. He closed his eyes briefly in thought before opening them again to see the tangy, orange sun glinting through the window, its rays resting upon the kunoichi before him, igniting her visage.

The light brought out all the varied colors of pink that made up the pigment of her hair and gave her skin a warm, healthy tone that it was missing as of late. It was enough to make his eyes soften. A memory, one thought to be long faded, was brought forth as such a sight met his eyes.

_"Sabaku-san?"_

_The Kazekage had been focused on the reports that, even in the midst of war, were stacked high on the table before him. No longer holding refutes over property or civil disorders, they were now scribbled on hastily with battle information and tactics, plans and schematics of other battlegrounds that housed numerous shinobi under his, remote, command. Some even held the little information garnered through skirmishes in the shadows._

_His shoulders wanted to slump slightly with the pressure laid upon them by the rest of the world, but he would not show weakness. He would not falter, but her voice, a much-needed distraction, was welcomed warmly._

_The Commander glanced up at his companion, who was leaned against the doorway of his personal tent watching as the shinobi around them walked back and forth with purpose, some to complete menial tasks, and others to save lives. The mixture was astounding in diversity. However, he wasn't focused on that._

_What had caught the young commander's eye was the posture of his companion, arms wrapped around her torso as if trying to comfort herself, and his eyes narrowed significantly. Something was bothering the woman who was his personal medic, and the head medic of the camp. He knew he could not afford to have her so distracted, but his humanity made his reason for wanting to reassure her personal. Not that Sabaku no Gaara would admit that to anyone, and he'd deny it to any who accused him of such a notion._

_"Haruno," he responded after setting his weapon of choice, a pen, down. He realized too late that his tone had come off as irritated, but that emotion had not necessarily been directed at her. He inwardly winced, hoping she would understand the reason._

_She had flinched. Inwardly, he chastised his carelessness and spoke again to correct his error. "What is bothering you?"_

_Seafoam eyes studied her intently as he steepled his fingers before him, his normal pose for thoughtfulness. There was a slight tremble to her body that he hadn't noticed before now. It made his eyes widen slightly because it almost looked like she was scared. However, he knew better._

_She was the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, feared by all for her violent fist and the insurmountable strength that accompanied it, and that wasn't even considering her genius in the medical field. She could be truly intimidating if she wanted to, but here before him stood someone entirely different than the strong-willed Konoha kunoichi he'd grown - begrudgingly - accustomed to sharing his space with._

_With these thoughts circulating in his mind her next words stunned him._

_"Do you think we'll make it?"_

_She wasn't scared, he realized, taking in her form properly. She was terrified. It showed in the way her voice quivered when she spoke, her trembling torso, the softer pitch in her voice as if she was afraid someone would discover her. As he had._

_The thing he liked most about Haruno was that she never asked anything of him. She kept to herself, doing her duty, speaking to him when it was necessary for communication, and only interrupting his work when he needed to be given supplements or given instructions on a medical protocol. She wasn't hanging around him like a hawk, nor did she abuse her station as his personal medic for any reason at all. She had performed, until now, spectacularly, without ever asking or needing anything from him._

_Not once in her entire time of being on the front lines, which by this point was nearly four months, had she shown any sign of breaking under the pressure or succumbing to any sort of mental trauma. She was steadfast._

_He could replace her. She was showing signs of the pressures of war, minimal but existent, but so were they all at this point. They all had seen much in those four months. He couldn't blame anyone for being slightly off, and he didn't want to replace her. She fascinated him in the way that a summer breeze fascinated a blind man, and it left him wanting to discover who Haruno Sakura really was, this revelation perturbing him because he had no clue why._

_Closing his eyes he decidedly spoke. "In times like these we need to have faith in each other." Sakura turned to look at him as he spoke, her beryl eyes shining with unshed tears. "In struggle and strife bonds are forged. Unbreakable, everlasting bonds. In this situation, if you look to the man on your left and on your right, it no longer matters what headband he wears or what land he hails from. Even his skill in battle is irrelevant" Seafoam rose to meet beryl as he opened his eyes pointedly. "All that does matter is that he has your back, because you have his. Both of you support each other, motivate each other, learn from each other, and live because of each other." He paused before continuing. "The man on my left is Godaime Hokage, and on my right is Naruto Uzumaki. I believe in Naruto. Therefore, I will live as will he." Gaara paused one last time, making sure his message was clear. "We must have faith in each other, faith that we will survive. If we don't, we are bound to perish."_

_There was a still silence that resounded in the small space. Seafoam clashed with beryl orbs in a staring contest while each pondered the words said._

_Minutes later, Sakura bowed her head slightly, a small smile adorning her features. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama."_

_When she rose, the sun spilled into the crack of the tent, painting orange on her skin and igniting her hair. She was breath-taking, unwittingly so, and ignorant to what the sun was doing to her features. Gaara stared in wonder, taking in the woman before him_.

He had pondered that moment many times since that day, and now he knew it was the moment that his love for Konoha's Cherry Blossom began.

Realizing he'd been staring for far too long, Gaara averted his gaze before speaking.

"Tell Hyuuga you both have the day off. You've been on duty for nearly a month straight; take the day to rest yourselves. Temari will accompany me throughout the day. I should be fine," he added rather quickly.

Sakura was silent, and if she had noticed his change in attitude or that he'd been staring, she didn't mention it. He stared down at the pan on the stove intently until he heard soft footfalls maneuver through the room and exit in a slow cadence.

Internally he cursed himself for getting worked up over a memory, and then his reaction following it. He'd been nearly cold to the kunoichi, and that wasn't going to help him get any closer to her.

Closing his eyes, he sighed, shoulders slumping in temporary defeat. Saddened orbs lowered as red hair fell to cover his eyes. A slight tremble could be detected in his posture had anyone been around to see it, a subtle shake that was evident in his shoulders. However, the Kazekage stood alone in his kitchen.

* * *

Upon hearing of their day off, the Hyuuga decided that it would be best if they scouted the village to get a better feel for the lay of the land, so to speak. Sakura had been to Suna many times before and knew it nearly as well as Konoha, but she hadn't complained when he'd made the decision hours earlier and was currently walking beside the Hyuuga prodigy amongst the citizens of Suna.

It was a semi-busy day. Stalls were open for bartering, the public park was alive with the voices of children, and the downtown bazaar was chock full of people of equal genders. It was circumstantially normal. A typical day.

"We should check for any weak points in the village walls," Hyuuga intoned off to her right.

"Hn," was her reply, her body set in a relaxed stance.

Her eyes scanned the streets in constant vigilance. However, they paused when they settled on a huge building off to her right: the hospital.

The next words of the Hyuuga were drowned out as she paused in step, riveted on the hospital. Sakura almost stepped forward, then she hesitated. Should she go see him? Since arriving she hadn't once gone to visit the hospitalized man, and for some reason that brought her guilt.

"Haruno?" The questioning tone of the Hyuuga sounded behind her.

Neji hadn't seen her so conflicted over something since before the incident. There she stood, stalk still, in front of Suna's only hospital with the Kazekage's brother no doubt on her mind.

It was astounding,if only for the fact that she hadn't entered a hospital since the day her brother died, deeming herself an unfit medic since she hadn't been able to save him. Was this progress?

"Haruno?" He tried one more time.

"Forgive me," she started as she turned and walked away from the hospital. "There is something I must do, Hyuuga. I will meet you at the northern wall in an hour."

Neji was stunned, to say the least, as he stood there watching her receding figure, but he left her to her own devices, knowing that if there was anyone who could heal the puppet master, it was the beryl eyed AnBu operative.

* * *

After assuring the Hyuuga prodigy had indeed left the area, Sakura stood once more in front of the hospital, one she'd gotten to know well over the years. She had been no stranger to requests from the Kazekage, before the war, to train Suna medics. In fact, she knew this hospital perhaps as well, if not better, than she knew the one in Konoha.

Beryl eyes were focused as she came to a decision, placing her hands into her pockets as she walked at a slow pace toward the building. It was almost painful as the ex-medic was acutely aware of every step she took toward the looming structure.

Upon reaching the door, her pulse skyrocketed. She could practically hear the blood rushing through her body in her ears as she removed her right hand and placed two fingers on the handle of the door. There she paused again. Hesitating.

_'Hold him down! I said hold him!' Sakura criedas she braced her arms against a brunette man's torso._

_'Hang in there Kankuro!' She yelled, focusing on the man's body with hands glowing green._

_'There, that's all of the poison. He should be fine,' she said softly, smiling at her patient._

_'Thank you Haruno-san,' sounded an airy voice._

As if she were burned by the object, Sakura withdrew her hand swiftly, staring with widened eyes at the door. Another memory.

She was about to turn around and walk away when a man exited the hospital and held open the door for her with a smile. Sakura blinked a few times before nodding at the man in thanks and quickly twisting her body to move past him and inside the building.

Her feet moved on their own volition through the halls that she had memorized, even now. She couldn't count how many procedures she'd performed in this building that saved numerous lives, but even now that wasn't enough.

Her shoulders hunched in a protective manner as she was assaulted with memory upon memory that seemed to haunt this building, of patient after patient that she'd treated and saved. Keeping her head down she unconsciously walked toward the front desk of the hospital, only noticing when a bored voice addressed her.

"Can I help you?"

Sakura looked up to see a very bored looking brunette who was reading something akin to a fashion magazine and chewing on what seemed to be gum. Two health code violations in three seconds. The medic she once was attempted to rear its head and demand to see this woman's supervisor, but she refrained, instead replying in a monotone, "I'm here to see Sabaku Kankuro."

This seemed to catch the woman's attention, who was now regarding her openly with woman was new, simply for the fact that she didn't recognize Sakura by her outlandish hair and chose to say the next words to her.

"Hospital Policy: Only immediate family and close relatives are allowed to see Sabaku-san," her bratty tone said as she scrutinized Sakura openly.

Turning from the disgusting woman, she began to walk away.

_'Hey, Sakura-chan! Spar with me!' Kankuro demanded as he came running up behind her._

_She had originally been on her way to the hospital tents to check up on a few recovering patients. Nothing too pressing._

_She smiled as the brunette threw his arm over her shoulder in a very older-brotheresc manner. No matter what the situation, especially stressful ones, he always managed to diffuse the atmosphere altogether. In that way, he reminded her of Naruto._

_'Kankuro, don't you remember what happened the last time?' Sakura teased, seeing him visibly flinch at the memory of his shattered puppets around the sparring grounds._

_To be honest, Sakura had felt really bad about that one, but after going head-to-head with Sasori it was hard for her to tone it down. Perhaps it was a sense of PTSD from the battle itself, but she'd never underestimated a puppet master since._

_'Hah! You won't get anywhere near my puppets this time!' He declared with a mischievous smirk._

_'We'll see about that...' Sakura replied smirking back at him as they changed course, set destination: the sparring grounds._

_Five seconds later….BOOM!_

_The ground was once more littered with wooden pieces of puppets that surrounded a very guilty looking Sakura._

_Kankuro's eyes were wide in disbelief. Then the realization hit him that he'd have to recraft his weapons...again…_

_'Awe, man...'_

_'Sorry Kankuro,' Sakura started as she looked down guiltily, but a hand on her head stopped her words. With widened eyes she glanced up into the brunette's eyes. He was smirking at her before he ruffled her hair._

_'Nah, forget about it.'_

A slight smirk, hidden behind the mask, adorned her features at the unexpected words from the past as her eyes softened infinitesimally. _'We are family.'_

* * *

It had been an hour since she left the hospital, but that did little to deter the determined kunoichi who had canvassed the outside of the building. She was currently standing behind the hospital on the right side near the end of the wall. Room 445 should be nearby.

She waited until the height of the day when most people were inside to escape the sun before she began scaling the wall. It was hot to the touch, seemingly scalding her from just being near it. The medic registered the fact that there were no burns on her palms, and filed it away as a side-effect of her undeserving notion toward her medical abilities.

Masking her chakra, she stopped beside the window she deemed to be room 445, and was not disappointed when she saw three armed guards stationed in various places on the wall in corners of the room. They appeared to be bored and one of them sleeping. Her eyes narrowed. It would be easy for anyone to sneak into this room. Luckily, it was just her that was attempting to do so.

Reinforcing her footing with chakra she weaved several hand signs, ending the sequence with the word, "Kai." She looked back into the room before opening the window slowly as not to disturb the ambiance of her genjutsu.

Once inside she strategically hit pressure points on the back of each of the sand nin's necks, effectively knocking them out, she mercifully lowered each of them to the floor to prevent further injury. She wasn't here to hurt them.

After this was complete, she weaved one more genjutsu, casting it on the entire room. If a member of the staff walked in it would appear as if Kankuro was alone, and the guards were standing watch as per usual.

Relaxing slightly, she looked in the direction of her objective, the one location she had neglected looking at throughout the whole ordeal: Kankuro.

He was without his 'body-paint', as he called it, clad in one of the hospital gowns and tucked snugly into the bed. A heart monitor was to his right with an IV hooked into his arm on the left. Her eyes held no emotion as she approached him, just taking in his visage.

She stood there for several moments, not daring to touch him or move at all, almost as if she was in a trance. It had been awhile since she'd seen the puppet master. In fact, it had been at the very last battle that she'd seen the man who deemed himself her brother at one point. Her eyes narrowed at the thought, thinking he was very fortunate to not be.

A sound of crashing pans from down the hall woke her from her reverie, and she jumped before blinking several times and moving toward him, lifting her hands on impulse. It was habitual, really.

She stood there staring at him now, her glowing green hands hovering above his body ready, even if she wasn't, to heal him.

What if she failed?

Her hands were shaking as she turned her palms up studying them intently. Should she be allowed to touch someone, who was so precious to others, with her blood-stained hands, the hands of a killer? Could she still turn them into tools for healing instead of weapons of death? Was she still capable of achieving something greater than stealing breath from an unnamed individual? Could she still save a life?

Her expression was nearly unreadable, but it would have been something the Hyuuga attributed to uncertainty and pain, as she lowered her hands turning them to his chest letting her chakra flood his system. She was edgy and uncertain, ready to pull away at a moment's notice, but her chakra seemed to know what it had to do without her having to direct it.

Searching his system methodically, the chakra finally butted against the problem. Encircling his heart in a barrier was a ring of poison. Not enough to kill him, but enough to make him comatose for the next year or more, and his body had shut down completely to diffuse the substance that had invaded his blood and, almost, heart.

Glancing to the right, on the table, Sakura found a bowl of water with a cloth in it. She stared at it, reminded of a time when she was much younger and had performed a procedure to withdraw poison from Kankuro's veins before. She hesitated before withdrawing her hands from his body, and walked over to the bowl of water.

Could she do it again?

She picked up the bowl.

**_'How dare you!?' _**Her mother's voice screamed in the recesses of her mind.

The voice made her pause before she turned toward Kankuro, dragging the table behind her.

**_'You couldn't save him! What makes you think you can save anyone else now?' _**Tsunade chided.

Closing her eyes, Sakura sent chakra into the water, withdrawing a small ball of it and concentrating as she gently sent the water into his system near the poison.

**_'Why try? You'll only fail. Like always.'_** Kakashi drawled disappointedly.

Allowing her chakra to assist her, she formed a ball around the poison and began to draw it from his body.

**_'What makes you think you're so special? Why could you, of all people, help him when you couldn't even save your own brother?'_** Sasuke's voice scoffed at her.

Sakura faltered slightly. One hand hovered over the bowl of water as she braced herself over Kankuro with the other. Her shoulders, which had bunched defensively at her mind's assault, were now trembling but there were no tears.

She glanced up at the brunette with uncertain beryl orbs. His breathing was labored and his heart monitor was registering a higher speed, which was normal under the given circumstances of such an invasive procedure. Her eyes softened slightly as the muted spot in her chest began to ache. She raised her right hand and rubbed the spot gently, not knowing why she was doing this. She hadn't healed, much less performed a procedure, since Junsuino had died, but now she understood.

In her mind's eye she saw the gloomy faces of Temari and….Gaara. She closed her eyes, feeling the muted throb in her chest once more as she saw the face of a dying Junsuino below her, and she gritted her teeth.

_'Because... because no one deserves to go through that.'_

And with that thought, all other voices in her head were silenced, and she vowed, "I will not let you die, Kankuro."

With a renewed focus, Sakura lifted her hand and hovered it over his chest, withdrawing the rest of the poison from him. A fire could be seen in her eyes in that moment, one which had been thought long dead.

Sighing, Sakura placed the poisoned water in the bowl before setting it on the counter near the sink. Hopefully, the hospital staff would empty it, thinking it was dirty.

Righting the room as she went, Sakura stopped when she reached Kankuro's side. Placing two fingers to his temple, she pulsed chakra gently into his mind to stimulate activity.

She stole one more glance at him before turning toward the window again.

Bracing a hand against the frame, she was about to push off of it when... "Sakura?"

Mentioned kunoichi turned abruptly back toward the bed where Kankuro stirred. His dark eyes blinked several times before taking in her visage as he sat up on his elbows. The medic in her yelled at her to make him lay down while her other half screamed at her to flee the scene. No one was suppose to see her here.

Kankuro couldn't remember much of anything at this point, how he'd gotten here, why he was there, but he did recognize the shock of pink hair that could only belong to one person, in his time of existence, that he knew all too well.

He blinked again to will away the haze marring his vision, and when he did he was shocked to see her clad in a black AnBu uniform with a half mask in place. However, that wasn't what shocked him the most. Her face didn't hold a smile, and it seemed like it hadn't for awhile. She looked like a walking deadman, emotionless and cold. His eyes hardened. This couldn't be Sakura.

Sakura noticed his change in expression and turned from him, the only words she could manage to explain her current condition ding, "It's been awhile Kankuro. Things have changed." She mentally cursed herself for the softness that her voice held even in its monotonicity.

"Are we at war?" Sakura would have laughed in the past at such an assumption, but with her AnBu uniform and obviously sneaking out of his room via the window it was something she could understand.

"No," she replied patiently.

"Are we going to be at war?" He asked again guardedly, and she couldn't help the slight flinch in her posture.

"You've been in a coma, Kankuro," she supplied, hoping to jog his memory. Being accused like an enemy by him twisted something in her gut that she couldn't pin point. All she knew was that she wanted it to stop and hoped that information would help that along.

Kankuro's eyes narrowed slightly as pieces of his memory resurfaced. Rogue nin, daggers, puppets, comrades falling left and right, and then he had been stabbed. It had been an ambush on a regular guard patrol somewhere close to the border of wind and fire, but it definitely had not been any Konoha nin. He would have recognized them.

Relaxing slightly, Kankuro untensed his body and leaned back against the pillows on his now uncomfortable bed. He was surprised she hadn't made him do so already. Something was definitely off.

"How long was I out?" He asked curiously, staring at the ceiling.

"Nearly five months," Sakura replied evenly, still turned from him.

He glanced in her direction. She was tense, like prey that was about to flee from the predator, but something was keeping her grounded to the floor of his room. Perhaps it was out of duty to answer his questions? Maybe she was uncomfortable in the hospital, but why would Sakura, of all people, be uncomfortable in a hospital?

His eyes narrowed in concern for her and then he asked one last question. "Did you bring me out of my coma, Sakura?"

There was no reply.

Moments later the door opened and glimpses of red, blonde, and brown registered as three individuals entered the room.

"Kankuro?" It was Temari's uncertain voice that had the other two, who he recognized as Gaara and the Hyuuga - now a man - raising their heads to look at him.

A slight sound was heard from his left and he glanced at the window to see the curtains shifting slightly, and a smile graced his features. Sakura had healed him.

Gaara hadn't originally decided to visit Kankuro, but something had told him he should. This feeling was reinforced upon entering the hospital where the woman at the front desk had told him that a strange person in all black had come asking for Kankuro earlier. It was strange, but Kankuro had friends in his own AnBu organization that Gaara didn't know about.

With Temari and Hyuuga at his side, who had returned hours earlier without Sakura, saying she needed to meditate, he had ventured forth to his brother's room for the depressing visit, only to find him fully awake and functional, and that wasn't all. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he'd seen a glint of pink leap from the window as they had entered.

Seafoam eyes narrowed as he disregarded his brother and strode over to the window, concentrating as he laid his hand against it. It was faint, but he was sure there was a chakra signature here. He ran his hand along the edges of the window, finally pulsing his own chakra against it. He was met with a soothing sensation, one he recognized all too well from the many times it had infiltrated his own system like a secret lover, calming and gentle. A small smirk graced his features as he bowed his head, daring his body not to tremble at the torrent of emotions threatening to overtake him.

"Gaara?" Was the call of his concerned sister as he stood frozen in place, his hand still on the sill of the window.

He chanced a glance at them out of the corner of his eye. Temari was kneeling by Kankuro's bedside while the Hyuuga, a silent sentry, stood on the other side. He had negated to see all the unconscious bodyguards upon entry that were so visible now. Allowing a slight slouch of his shoulders to show, he turned back to the window.

"It was Sakura…"

A single tear fell from his eyes and hit the windowsill unbidden.

_'Thank you for giving me my brother back.'_

* * *

Sakura appeared on the roof of the Sabaku estate in a swirl of petals, her eyes wide and her breathing haggard. That was close. Too close.

Immediately she fell into the lotus position and closed her eyes, desperately trying to find her center. Breathing deeply, her pulse eventually calmed and her walls, that had threatened to crumble in Kankuro's presence, were reforged and strong as ever.

Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to reason out why she'd had such a reaction, and, after over-thinking it grandly, found the answer to be simple. She had transferred her emotions about Junsuino's death onto Kankuro, and since she saved him the transference had a greater impact than normal.

The ache in her chest renewed tenfold as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, almost drawing blood from her palms as she asked herself that same question she had been asking wicked that fateful day. Just this once, she gave into her emotions slightly, a tear falling down her face and staining the rooftop below her.

_'Why… Why couldn't I save you… Junsu?'_


	5. Chapter 4: Scars

**_Previously on Shattered:_**

_"It was Sakura…"_

_A single tear fell from his eyes and hit the windowsill unbidden._

_'Thank you for giving me my brother back.'_

* * *

_Immediately she fell into the lotus position and closed her eyes, desperately trying to find her center. Breathing deeply, her pulse eventually calmed and her walls, that had threatened to crumble in Kankuro's presence, were reforged and strong as ever._

_The ache in her chest renewed tenfold as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, almost drawing blood from her palms as she asked herself that same question she had been asking wicked that fateful day. Just this once, she gave into her emotions slightly, a tear falling down her face and staining the rooftop below her._

_'Why… Why couldn't I save you… Junsu?'_

* * *

_So long time no see. I've updated all of the chapters, including an added scene in the chapter "A Challenge". I hope you enjoy the fiction as I work to complete it in a timely manner. Thank you for your patience and support._

* * *

_A special thanks to: **Far2addicted**, which without whom this would not be possible. _

_You make me look like a pro. Thanks for that._

* * *

**_Disclaimer: Naruto, in all facts and facilities belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I just borrow them for a while. All emotional rollercoasters, heartbreaks, and pent up suspense, plotlines and what have you belong to me. Enjoy._**

* * *

Scars

The ceiling. It was what had held her attention for the past five days when she was supposed to be sleeping, and what continued to do so now, fatigue from lack of sleep beginning to affect her mind and body.

Sakura had gone on missions where she had to forgo this luxury, but here, there was no need to go without sleep, especially when she and the Hyuuga traded shifts like they did. However, none of that crossed her mind as beryl eyes remained trained on the crème colored surface. No, it was something much more haunting than the ceiling held that held her gaze prisoner.

She had been avoiding the Kazekage, Kankuro, and Temari for the past five days. When they came home, she'd already be on patrol. When they got up, she'd extend her border patrols until they left. She took her meals to her room and ate them, but she'd done that before. The reason behind her actions was simple, really: she didn't want to explain her actions, or rather, she wasn't ready to explain her actions, especially when she could barely explain them to herself. However, that still wasn't the source of her restless nights.

The thing that plagued her most was another simple statement that held so much regret, pain, and guilt over her being. It caused her emotional turmoil and mental unrest, so much so that she couldn't sleep. She tried every day, and even if she did manage to fall asleep for an hour or two, it wasn't restful, and she awoke just as tired and fatigued as she was when sleep took her under. It was simple, really, and yet driving her mad.

For the life of her, Haruno Sakura couldn't help but ponder the 'what ifs' of her existence. She'd always been this way ever since her Genin days. It was the natural state of an intuitive mind, but right now that mind was slowly killing her.

What if she'd been able to save Jun?

She closed her eyes as the question which had plagued her for years, burning like an ever-present ember in her psyche. It was obvious that today, too, would find her no rest.

Rising swiftly from the lush mattress, Sakura strapped her weapon pouches to her hips and legs before leaving the room and closed the door behind her promptly. She was halfway down the hall before she realized her blunder: someone was home, and even worse, the sound of his or her footsteps were drawing closer to her. They knew she was awake.

Inwardly, she cursed as she turned her back, determined to escape out of one of the many windows that lined the hallway, when a voice stopped her.

"Sakura?" The quiet feminine voice sounded. It was Temari.

Sakura closed her eyes momentarily before opening them and inclining her head back to indicate that she'd heard her. A single beryl eye peered over her shoulder to regard the ambassador.

It was obviously her day off. She was in her normal attire; sans the giant fan and pouch she always carried with her. Her hair was void of the ever-present ponytails and cascaded down her shoulders, longer than Sakura would have imagined, making her look strangely tame in comparison to her normal appearance, almost softer.

Temari wasn't sure what she had expected to happen. Sakura had healed Kankuro and then attempted, to the best of her ability, to hide from them all. The only one who had really gotten to talk to her in five days was the Hyuuga, who always reported that she was doing fine, but nothing more.

Temari knew better.

The tactical mind her father had gifted her with allowed her to see the slight ticks of uncertainty the Hyuuga gave off when speaking about his partner, how he avoided the eyes when answering questions about how she was, and how he would nonchalantly change the subject once the questions were appraised. Looking at her now, Temari became aware of just how wrong something was with the medic.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied Sakura's back. Her shoulders were slumped slightly and her muscles tensed, as if she was jumpy or constantly on guard. No one else would have seen that. And her eye, the one eye Temari was able to see, spoke volumes. It was strained and glazed, almost looking resigned to an unspeakable fate. The kunoichi was exhausted.

Temari's brow furrowed. Sakura wasn't sleeping, and she wasn't sure why. Deciding not to push the subject, she continued with her original intention of catching Sakura.

"I wanted to thank you, for Kankuro. It means a lot to Gaara and me." Forest green orbs watched as Sakura's shoulders tensed at the mention of Temari's oldest brother's name, but it was gone as soon as it was there, like it never happened. Had Temari been anyone else, she would have assumed she imagined it, but the fan master knew better.

"Hn," was the only response she got, but the closing and reopening of Sakura's eyes told Temari that the other kunoichi understood before turning and walking past Temari and toward the door to an unknown destination.

Temari sighed softly as the door closed. "What's going on with you, Sakura?"

* * *

Gaara was sifting through one of the various piles of paper that lay upon his already overburdened desk. The context of the bundled packet he held seemed to be related to irrigation, once again. However, he barely took in the meaning of the elegant script on the parchment, as his mind had long since drifted elsewhere, to Sakura.

Before he had been unsure he could pull her back from this purgatory, this mindset she seemed to hold herself prisoner in, but now, after she had showed this impertinent sliver of the person she once was, the person he loved, he could not falter. She had given him hope, and as he had once thought he'd have to, for various reasons, he was going to fight for her.

Closing his eyes, he laid the packet down, his focus no longer on work, and as he peered around the room at the Hyuuga and Kankuro, who had joined him on the pretense that he was tired of sitting in a hospital bed, he decided maybe a break was in order.

"Kazekage-sama," came a voice from beyond the door, followed by a hurried knock.

Then again, maybe not.

"Enter," his airy voice sounded as a brunette kunoichi strode forth rapidly into the room.

"The Elders have called an emergency council meeting. You are to come at once," she said bowing briskly.

Gaara could feel the nerve in the bridge of his nose twitch slightly. Being ordered around by the Elders was not on his short list of "favorite things to have happen".

The Hyuuga had already moved from his position on the wall to follow him before Gaara turned his gaze to take in the form of his brother.

"I'll be fine, Gaara," Kankuro said, waving his hand as if reading the Kazekage's train of thought. "I was hospitalized, not killed."

"Recently released," Gaara reminded Kankuro before standing up from behind his desk, but he didn't move. He was about to call for his assistant outside the door when the Hyuuga spoke.

"That won't be necessary."

Gaara directed his questioning gaze toward the Konoha nin to see the Byakugan activated. Before he could vocalize his question, a flash of pink came through the open window of his office.

Recognition flooded seafoam but he only had seconds to regard her appearance before the brunette kunoichi was upon the entering figure with the intention of hostility.

"Rukia, no!" Kankuro called out, eyes wide, but there was no need.

The Suna nin was slammed with one arm against the wall effortlessly, a kunai lazily held against her neck in mere seconds. Rukia's blue eyes were wide as Sakura, in full black anbu-hybrid ensemble, stood before them, tilting her head back to gaze at the individual who had attempted to assault her. Tired but wary beryl eyes studied her victim briefly before she turned her head toward the Kazekage and nodded in greeting.

"Kazekage-sama." Her quiet tone sounded though the stark silence of his office.

Kankuro was the one to break the unsteady silence, "Whoa. Sakura...? When did you...? How...? ...Oh. Anbu."

The pink haired medic, turning her gaze toward him, raised one eyebrow slightly at his steady stream of half asked questions as they turned into an obvious observation. However, Gaara had taken note of something else, something with a much greater impact.

She had shown emotion: the simple lift of her eyebrow. Although small and subtle, it was something she would have never done before, and, from the slightly shocked look on the Hyuuga's face, Gaara wasn't the only one to notice.

The right corner of Gaara's lips turned upward as he crossed his arms. There was still hope. However, his jubilance was short-lived as a slight look of concern briefly ghosted over his features. Sakura looked tired.

He had known her sleeping schedule was slightly off, due to the Hyuuga's reports, but he'd had no clue it had gotten to the point where she was visibly affected. This only lead to more questions: what was affecting her sleep? How long had she been like this? How could this be fixed? Steps would have to be taken to remedy this, but other matters, unfortunately, held precedence for the time being.

"Haruno, release Yamada, please," he spoke airily as his role of Kazekage fell back into place. "I have a council meeting to attend."

Sakura blinked as her gaze returned to him. He noticed, however, that she did not meet his gaze.

With a slight flick of her wrist, the kunai was deftly tucked back into its holder. As she moved across the room, away from Rukia, Sakura spoke steadily, her tone still quiet. "I will stay with Kankuro."

Gaara's gaze drifted from his older brother to the medic before landing on the Hyuuga, who nodded.

"Alright," he replied glancing at the shell-shocked brunette. "Yamada," he intoned, garnering her attention.

"Right," she said, still eyeing the beryl-eyed operative apprehensively. "This way, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara followed behind the brunette, but he paused one last time at the door to his office to look back. That's when he saw it: the slumped shoulders and tensed back, the slouched posture and unfocused eyes, and the slight sway of her body as she fought to hold it upright. The signs no one had cared to notice until now. Briefly, he wondered if it was safe to leave them alone together. He could just imagine them both falling over and passing out.

The brief urge to pinch the bridge of his nose swept through him before he bit it back and continued through the door, but not before beryl eyes regarded him one last time, and as Gaara headed down the hall, taking the various turns out of sheer muscle memory, he could have sworn he saw something hidden there in her green pools, something uncharacteristic of the woman he had once known.

These thoughts plagued him, but as he entered a sealed room to find several disgruntled looking Elders, he pushed those thoughts from the forefront of his mind. Whatever they held in store would require his full attention, if the suffocating silence that seemed to stifle the round table was anything to go by.

* * *

After the door closed with a sound click, Kankuro turned his attention to the pink haired nin, who had opted to lean against the wall his bench was adjacent to. Brown eyes studied her while her own eyes remained closed.

His memories from a few days past were blurry at best, but he did vividly remember it being she in his room that day, answering his uncertain, and rightly suspicious, questions. He also remembered the manner in which she had treated him: kindly, although the implications of his words had been anything but hospitable.

This was a trait of the girl - no, the woman - he had grown to know and see as family during the war, but the person he had awoken to was very different. Looking at her even now, Kankuro could see the change in her mannerisms. She was cold, closed off and quiet, reserved, a stark contrast to the bubbly, warm individual Sakura had once been.

Sakura had only ever radiated warmth and joy to all who were near her; even at her weakest, she had always been kind.

Once, he recalled having to drag her from the medical tents, half-dead due to lack of chakra, but the entire time she had smiled and asked him how he was doing, even going so far as to check his vitals while she was being hauled away from her duties. He smiled softly at the memory. Gaara had been none too pleased with the state she had been returned in on that occurrence. That was the first time Kankuro had even remotely considered his youngest sibling's feelings for the rosette.

On more than one occasion he himself had been under the mercy of those healing hands, and upon awakening he always felt the safety and warmth only she could provide. Where had that girl gone?

Chocolate orbs sharpened in concentration as he took in this being that now stood before him in Sakura's place. She was different; nearly alien in comparison to the woman he had considered a second sister before. What had happened to her?

Sighing, Kankuro broke his stare, his eyes turning toward the floor. He'd have to be patient. No doubt Gaara wanted answers just as much, if not more, than he did. He had to focus on what he did know. She had saved his life, so maybe she wasn't as different as they all thought.

'_In that case,_' he thought, a slight smile tugging at his lips, '_I'll just have to be patient, like everyone else._'

Beryl eyes opened slowly regarding the room around her with near indifference. She could feel his eyes on her, studying her, and she didn't blame him. It was probably shocking to come out of a coma and see someone once familiar completely changed, unknowing of how much time had passed. Undoubtedly that experience would stick with him for a long time.

"Sakura," his voice sounded in the suffocating silence of the room, garnering her attention as exhausted beryl orbs took in his countenance. He was smiling sheepishly, she noticed, and had to stifle the slight twitch upward at the right corner of her mouth due to his discomfort. "Do you think you'd be able to help me out?" Taking her silence for confusion, Kankuro continued, "I'm still not moving that well. Help me to Gaara's desk?"

Wordlessly, Sakura lifted off of the wall and moved to his side, noticing that he strained to lift himself to an acceptable height, but his muscles were failing him in his endeavor. Without hesitation, Sakura stooped to his shoulder, grasping his left wrist as she looped his arm over her shoulders and neck before she stood to her full height, dragging him up with her, securing him to her right side. Beneath the mask, her teeth gritted due to the effort being exerted on her exhausted body, but the slight introduction of chakra to her system eased the pain enough so she could fully stand supporting the entirety of his weight.

Her struggle did not go unnoticed by Kankuro, whose eyes narrowed slightly in concern. Was she normally this…weakened? Had his recuperation taken that much out of her?

Reopening her eyes as they took tentative steps forward, her right arm tightened around his torso to keep him steady. He winced slightly at the pressure, and it did not go unnoticed. Subtly, Sakura pulsed chakra into his body, scouring it for any sign of residual poison or open wounds either she or the preceding doctor had missed. Her body relaxed a bit after she found nothing of great precedence, just weakened muscles. To stimulate healing, Sakura laced her chakra into the tender sinews and bruised cells, and, once she was satisfied with their condition, she retracted from him, believing he was none the wiser of her actions. She was wrong.

Kankuro lowered his head slightly to hide his smile. Maybe she had changed outwardly, but this was the same Sakura he had always known; her concern for others always superseded the needs of her own.

"Thank you," he said while smiling down at her genuinely, still slightly sheepish from having to ask for help.

Sakura blinked, unsure of what he meant in the end. Assuming it was for helping him to Gaara's desk, she intoned a mere, "Hn," in response as she sat him down gently in the Kazekage's chair behind the desk.

Ignoring her lackluster response, Kankuro instead focused on the piles of paper that littered Gaara's desk. "Right," he said, looking slightly lost for a moment. Apparently a lot had happened while he was comatose.

Sakura couldn't help the covert upturn at the edge of her lips beneath the black half-mask she adorned. It seemed she wasn't the only one in need of a distraction.

* * *

Gaara's posture was rigid as he made the trek back to his estate, the Hyuuga in tow. The Elders, possibly upon the suggestion of a single, unnamed member, had the audacity to question his motives behind his declination of their recent irrigation proposal that had, in Gaara's eyes, been more detrimental to Suna civilians than any other proposal. It would skyrocket taxation on citizens whilst lessening the blow on the shinobi rostered on active duty. Granted, there had been a reduction in high paying missions as of late, but Suna had undergone harder times during and before Gaara's time in office as Kazekage, of which Gaara reminded the Elders, and the village would also survive this one without such a drastic measure if at all possible. This, of course had lead to a long, heated debate about his capabilities as Kazekage, with Uso at the helm, which was unsurprising to Gaara.

Since his appointment as Kazekage, Uso had made it his mission, so it seemed, to broadcast his shortcomings in any and all ways possible. Gaara understood he was incredibly young for a kage, possibly the youngest Suna had ever had, but that in no way made him any less deserving or capable of the title he held.

He exhaled heavily as his home came into view, but the tension in his shoulders did not lax in intensity until he caught the shock of pink hair in his peripheral vision. Stopping short in front of his home, he lifted his gaze to the roof where the black-clad kunoichi was observing their approach in a languid manner. His brow furrowed, however, when a dog came to her side moments later, and he watched, as the two seemed to exchange words quietly.

"Kakashi's ninken," the Hyuuga intoned as he stopped beside Gaara, also watching the curious exchange with his opal orbs. "Naruto insisted she have them upon his death."

Gaara remained silent, still watching her and the ninken interact. "You may continue on inside, Hyuuga-san."

Neji spared the Kazekage a curious glance before turning to enter the estate, an inkling of an idea as to Gaara's motives beginning in his brain. A smile ghosted across his features; Gaara was finally prepared to put the first step to gaining Sakura's trust into action. Neji paused at the door before taking the handle securely in his grasp, though, his eyes narrowing. Was she ready for that?

He activated his Byakugan as he entered the abode. Her chakra levels were extremely low, and to spar now would mean a loss and probable unconsciousness, but he would not stop the determined Kazekage from trying. A smirk flashed across his face as he ventured into the kitchen, where mouth-watering smells were emanating from. It would be good for her, and she might finally get some rest.

* * *

Sakura had observed the Kazekage and Neji approaching the estate, already set up for her evening patrol. Akino had come to address her prominent exhaustion that he had smelled coming off of her. He was concerned about her, it seemed, and she could understand why.

Lacing her fingers through his fur in a sign of mild affection, Sakura peered down at the entrance to the estate to see the Kazekage staring up at her and Akino with a near impassive gaze. Retracting her hand from Akino's fur, she stood, albeit a bit unsteadily against a wayward breeze that ruffled her hair, and addressed him.

"Kazekage-sama," she greeted, her tone even but weaker than normal.

"Sakura," he said softly, but she heard it, along with the softer undercurrent in his voice, and had to repress a shiver. Seemingly ignorant of, or not seeing, her reaction to his voice, he continued this time monotonously in his airy tone, "Spar with me." It was not a question.

He turned from her, walking off toward his personal training grounds and left no room for argument. Sakura stayed her position for a few minutes more, her brow drawn in concentration.

To spar now, in such a weakened state, was potentially dangerous. Exerting that much energy could drain her further, and prevent her from performing her patrol adequately. However, she had no real reason to decline his request.

"Sakura-ue," Akino warned, his tone laced with concern. Sakura extended her hand to the base of his skull, giving him a few scratches before she leapt down, managing to land semi-gracefully on the ground.

* * *

Gaara was waiting, albeit none too patiently, at the sparring grounds he'd had set up for his and his sibling's personal use, the same grounds Sakura and Temari had sparred at previously. In fact, the remnants of that battle were still visible with the ruptured ground and misplaced sand, but that was far from his mind at this moment. No, Gaara was currently focused on the woman whose dark silhouette approached him slowly.

The Hyuuga had given him the means of reconnecting with the woman, but he had neglected to tell him how. What was the spar supposed to accomplish? Was he supposed to beat her to gain some semblance of respect in her eyes? Or was it merely a bonding activity?

_'Perhaps this isn't suppose to be strategic,'_ he finally decided, his posture relaxing and the moonlight igniting her figure, casting shadows across her face and setting her hair aglow in an ethereal manner. _'Maybe,'_ he continued in thought as he watched her tighten the grip of her wrappings on her arms, _'maybe it's just time.' _And that was something he knew she needed in large quantities. Time and patience.

"Ready?" Gaara queried, his sand already pooling on his skin to form his infamous armor. He'd seen her spar with Temari, and knew she had improved, so he wasn't going to take any chances with the unpredictable kunoichi.

"Hn," Sakura intoned, taking a more aggressive taijutsu stance than she had with Temari.

In a way, Gaara took it as a compliment. She was taking his threat seriously. Allowing a smirk to ghost across his face, he too melded his body into an opposing taijutsu stance. Even if this was only meant for 'bonding', he was going to enjoy himself.

Sakura's face was a mask of indifference as their bodies collided for the first time, her left hand grasping his right fist firmly in a block.

_'Sakura_.'

Her eyes widened as the voices from the past invaded her mind… as his voice rang in her ears.

"Sakura!" Gaara called sharply as the kunoichi ducked, tucking into herself, out of the way of his oncoming fist just in time. Throwing herself backward, Sakura rolled a few feet away from him before pushing off of the ground to land on the balls of her feet. Previously widened beryl orbs were now sharp with concentration. She could not allow the past to distract her.

Gaara's seafoam eyes narrowed significantly. Something had thrown her off when they had touched, and it had caused her to nearly take his following fist to the face. He was wondering if this spar was such a good idea, if they should quit for the day, when she charged him again.

Face hardened with resolve, Sakura charged the Kazekage, dealing blow after blow with her fists that he deflected with his own forearms as sand whipped up fiercely around them. Attempting to imitate the Hyuuga gentle fist, Sakura opened her palm to hit the pressure point in his shoulder when Gaara's much bigger hand caught hers gently yet firmly in his own.

_'It's okay to be afraid.'_

_'I know, Gaara.'_

Wide and soft beryl orbs lifted to meet seafoam eyes before they hardened once more, Sakura wrenching her hand from Gaara's grasp. Focused seafoam orbs narrowed as she drew a kunai and swiped at his image before it disappeared.

Gaara felt invigorated. It had been some time since he had actually sparred, since his duties, much like Naruto's, sapped the majority of his time. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he decided to kick his aggression up a notch, to expend more of his pent up rage at the council and use it as fuel in this mock-fight. It would be good for him, and, undoubtedly, be of no consequence to her, if her previous battle prowess was anything to go by.

Reappearing behind her, Gaara used sand to disarm her, sending the kunai flying across the training ground. Jerking around to face him, Sakura sprinted toward Gaara, taking a leap into the air and coming down upon him with an axe kick that he blocked with his forearms.

_'If you need anything...'_

The voice caused her to start, and she glanced down into his eyes that were staring into hers as the voice continued.

_'Don't hesitate to ask.'_

Taken aback by the tenderness in his voice, her defenses fell and he sent her sailing across the field as he pushed back against her leg. After unceremoniously slamming into the ground, Sakura pulled herself up shakily; she barely had time to turn around as he charged her again.

_'I'll be right here.'_

Her eyes weren't the only ones that went wide as his right fist collided with her jaw. The brute force of the impact sent her careening another forty feet, and she hit the ground several times along the way, her body twisting in a sickening fashion.

"Sakura!" Gaara called, horrified and frozen in place as the kunoichi struggled to rise to her feet. Obviously dazed, Sakura inclined her head to look back at him. The black mask that normally obscured her face from view lay behind her, and what was made evident in the moonlight shocked him.

Across the bridge of her nose, an inch or so below her eyes and extending to the outside corner of both of those orbs was a deep, nasty scar that looked as if it had been torn into her skin rather than cut cleanly.

Gaara only had seconds to study his new find before her eyes glazed over and she fell.

Falling backward, Sakura lost herself to the darkness, indifferent to the impact that was sure to follow. Before her eyes darkened entirely, however, she vaguely remembered looking into concerned seafoam framed by dark lines and a shock of red hair.

* * *

Bleary beryl eyes opened once, halfway, before opening slowly again in an attempt to clear the fog that clouded her vision. The faint beeping sound of a monitor resounded in her ears. Once focused, her eyes trained to a stark white ceiling before the realization hit her: she was in a hospital. Flashes of memories skirted through her mind and she subconsciously lifted her hand to touch her face, relaxing slightly to find her half-mask present upon it.

"You're awake."

Beryl orbs immediately scanned the room to find Gaara, whose seafoam orbs were studying her intensely, sitting in a chair in one corner of the room while the Hyuuga, who occupied the other, was seemingly asleep.

"You've been out for three days," Gaara intoned, his piercing gaze watching her for any kind of reaction.

He had been nearly frantic when she'd passed out on him at the training ground, her breathing shallow and body trembling. Initially, he thought that she was having some sort of attack, but upon arriving at the hospital - in dramatic fashion, no less- he had been informed that the trembling was merely a sign of extreme fatigue.

Gaara had chided himself for days after the spar, knowing well that he probably shouldn't have pushed her. He had noticed that she had been in bad condition that day, and the stress and built up anger had gotten the better of his judgment. He was just glad, this time, there were no dire consequences for his rash behavior. He was a Kazekage; he'd have to do better in the future.

Sakura swore softly under her breath, realizing that she had left the Hyuuga to pull double shifts for three days without her. She attempted to sit up, but her body protested, her muscles screaming at her.

"He's been pulling double shifts for three days," Gaara stated, pausing to allow his disapproving stare to pierce her beryl orbs. "We were informed by the head medic that you've been doing the same thing for nearly a _week _straight."

Sakura had nothing to say. It was true. She had pushed herself to her limits and then exceeded them, knowing all the while that she was. The stifling silence in the hospital room continued as the Kazekage stood moving swiftly to her bedside. His eyes scanned her face and rested where he knew the scar on her face to lie, and Sakura inwardly chastised herself for allowing such weakness to be displayed so openly.

Sea foam softened slightly as his hand reached toward her, his fingertips lying gently on the bridge of her nose, directly on the scar. "A facial scar, especially one as new as yours, is often considered a disgraceful mark." He paused to gauge her reaction, and when there was none, he continued. "A medic of your caliber should easily be able to erase such a wound." He paused again, his brow drawn in confusion as his eyes met hers. "Why didn't you?"

Rising from her prone position on the hospital bed, Sakura moved her legs to hang over the floor, trying to assess her muscle's recuperation. A moment or two more passed by as Gaara watched her until he was sure she wouldn't respond to his question. Repressing a sigh, he moved his gaze to the whitewashed wall, a thousand thoughts speeding through his mind.

"It is a reminder." Her voice was quiet, but it seemed to echo throughout the room and yet, at the same time, cause a deafening silence.

Gaara's brow furrowed again. No one had told him what exactly had 'destroyed' her. With his logical mind, he had deduced the 'incident' had taken place the night of the invasion, but nothing beyond that, and this was the first time she'd ever indicated that something did happen that night two years ago.

He knew he was pushing the boundaries, but Gaara continued, his seafoam eyes trained to her figure. "A reminder of what?"

Sakura stood before seizing her self-designed vest and sliding it over her shoulders, clasping it together quickly and making her way toward the door. All this talk about that night was making her uncomfortable; she needed to leave, but she felt that Gaara deserved something. What caused the feeling, she wasn't sure, but the notion compelled her to respond in some way.

"The night I failed."

Without another word, the kunoichi was gone.

Intense eyes watched the door long after her departure, minutes after she left, trying to decipher her cryptic answer, but he was left with more questions than answers. From his time speaking with Naruto, he knew her parents blamed her for the loss of something precious. Their village? Or something more? What had she failed? Why did her parents blame her for it?

Gaara raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, his other arm wrapping around his torso and his eyes closing in thought. Sleep deprivation was surely interfering with his thought process, for he could not connect the dots that he knew had to be right in front of him.

"It's going to take some time, Kazekage."

Sea foam opened and regarded the once sleeping Hyuuga, who was staring at the now empty bed. Gaara sighed, knowing the Hyuuga was right, but hating that fact nonetheless.

Irritated and in need of a relaxing activity, Gaara headed toward the door, but the Hyuuga's voice stopped him one last time.

"She mentioned it, Gaara." Neji's opal gaze leveled on him thoughtfully, his arms crossed in a relaxed manner from his light nap, eyes intensifying with something Gaara had never seen from the Hyuuga before: a mixture of hope and unwavering faith in him. "She hasn't mentioned it to anyone since it happened. That's something."


End file.
